Mohammed Al-Halbousi
Iraq's parliament elected Sunni lawmaker Mohammed al-Halbousi as speaker on Saturday, marking an important step towards establishing a new government four months after an inconclusive national election.
Parliament had been due to elect a speaker and two deputies during its first meeting on Sept 3, but failed to do so as lawmakers were unable to determine which competing bloc had the most seats.
Halbousi's election marks the start of a 90-day process outlined in the constitution, designed to eventually lead to a new government.
Lawmakers must next elect a new president and task the leader of the largest bloc to form a government as prime minister. But a dominant bloc has yet to emerge, against a backdrop of shifting political alliances.
The Iraqi parliament on Saturday held its second session to elect the parliament speaker and his two deputies.A source from within the parliament told Anadolu Agency that after the winning MPs are sworn in they will vote for the speaker of the house of representatives and his two deputies.The source, preferring not to be named because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the Iraqi security forces inside parliament prevented the media from entering the building without giving any reasons.Earlier this month, the newly-elected parliament postponed the election of a new assembly speaker to mid-September after a number of lawmakers decided to boycott the vote.Attended by only 85 of 329 MPs, the first session saw fierce disagreements between rival coalitions (Al-Bina and Reform Construction), both of which claimed to have attained a majority bloc in the assembly. Under Iraq’s constitution, the majority bloc in parliament has the right to draw up the country’s next government.Among the most prominent nominees for the post of speaker is Osama al-Nujaifi and Mohamed al-Halbusi.According to results of Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary poll, Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon Coalition won 54 seats, followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-led coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Victory Bloc (42 seats).Iraqi Sunni parliament bloc chooses nominee for speakerIran commemorates soldiers slain during war with IraqCar bomb in Iraq’s Saladin leaves 6 dead, 42 injuredTurkey ramps up diplomatic efforts as Iraq spirals into chaos
Iraqi parliament holds second session to elect Speaker
Halbousi defeated former Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, winning the position with 169 votes, according to Shi'ite lawmaker Husham al-Suhail. Iraq's parliament contains 329 seats.
Announcing the vote, the temporary leader of the assembly said Halbousi, 37, had become the youngest speaker of parliament in Iraq's history.
Before running in May's national election as a candidate on the Anbar Our Identity electoral list, Halbousi was the governor of Anbar province. He had previously served in Iraq's parliament, from 2014 to 2017.
Since Saddam Hussein was toppled in a 2003 U.S.-led invasion, power has been shared among Iraq's three largest ethnic-sectarian components. The prime minister has traditionally been a Shi'ite Arab, the speaker of parliament a Sunni Arab and the president a Kurd.
Iraqis voted in May in their first parliamentary election since the defeat of Daesh, but a contentious recount process delayed the announcement of final results until last month.