Iraq’s newly elected parliament is set to convene its first session on Monday without a prior political agreement on key leadership positions, underscoring deep divisions among major political blocs following last month’s general elections.

According to a statement from parliament’s media office, the opening session of the sixth parliamentary term will begin at noon on December 29, in line with the official agenda released on Sunday. The session will be held in two stages, starting with newly elected lawmakers taking the constitutional oath, followed by the election of the speaker of parliament and two deputy speakers.

President Latif Rashid formally called for the session through Republican Decree No. 54, issued in accordance with Article 54 and paragraph four of Article 73 of the Iraqi Constitution, after the Federal Supreme Court ratified the final election results.

Under parliamentary rules and established practice, the first sitting will be chaired by the oldest member of parliament until new parliamentary leadership is elected. This role will be assumed by Amer Hussein Jassim Faiz, a 77-year-old lawmaker from Basra.

The opening session follows the general elections held on November 11, which resulted in a fragmented political landscape and renewed negotiations among rival parties over key state positions. While the session will proceed as scheduled, major political blocs have yet to reach consensus on two of the most critical posts: the prime minister and the speaker of parliament.

By political custom in place since 2005, the speaker’s position is allocated to the Sunni Arab component, the first deputy speaker to the Shia bloc, and the second deputy speaker to the Kurdish parties. The election of the speaker requires an absolute majority of parliament members — 50 percent plus one of the total seats — a threshold that may be difficult to achieve without prior political agreements.

The session comes amid divisions within the Shia Coordination Framework over its nominee for prime minister, while Sunni parties have so far failed to unite behind a single candidate for the speakership. Kurdish parties are closely monitoring the talks, as broader agreements over sovereign posts are expected to influence the next phase of government formation.