Iraq’s Council of Representatives has opened its first session of the sixth parliamentary term, electing Haibat [Haybat] al-Halbousi as Speaker and Adnan Fayhan as First Deputy Speaker.
According to Al Jazeera, al-Halbousi is from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party.
The session was chaired by Amer al-Fayez, the oldest serving MP, and attended by 309 members. Proceedings began with a recitation from the Holy Qur’an, followed by a reminder of Article 55 of the Constitution, which requires the election of the Speaker and deputies during the first session.
Members of parliament then took the constitutional oath for the sixth term, in both Arabic and Kurdish. Mr al-Fayez stressed the importance of MPs fulfilling their legislative and oversight responsibilities.
Three candidates stood for the position of Speaker: Amer Abdul Jabbar, Salem Matar al-Essawi, and Haibat al-Halbousi, while Muthanna Abdul Samad withdrew his candidacy. Mr al-Halbousi was elected Speaker after securing 208 votes, compared with 66 for Mr al-Essawi and nine for Mr Abdul Jabbar, with 26 invalid ballots.
In the vote for First Deputy Speaker, Adnan Fayhan won with 177 votes, defeating Mohsen al-Mandalawi, who received 107 votes, with 22 invalid ballots.
Voting for the post of Second Deputy Speaker was inconclusive over two rounds, with Ribwar Karim and Shakhawan Abdullah failing to secure the required majority. The election for this position was postponed pending further deliberations.
