New Delhi: Iraq’s parliament on Thursday elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as the new president, paving way for a new government and putting an end to a year-long deadlock, news agency Reuters reported.
Rashid, 78, is a British-educated engineer and was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010.
As per the report, Rashid has 15 days to invite a nominee from the largest parliamentary bloc to form a government.
According to reports, Rashid replaces fellow Iraqi Kurd Barham Saleh as head of state following two-round voting in the parliament on Thursday, winning more than 160 votes against 99 for Saleh.
Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi had announced on Tuesday to hold a parliament session to elect the new president.
Notably, on Monday, Muhsen al-Mandalawi, first deputy of Parliament Speaker said that around 170 lawmakers had submitted a request to hold a parliament session dedicated to electing the next president of the country, in a bid to end the political deadlock.
According to power-sharing system in Iraq after 2003, the presidency should be reserved for Kurds, the Speaker’s post for Sunnis, and the Prime Minister’s post for Shias.
It is to be noted that 269 of the 329 legislators attended the Parliament session on Thursday, hours after nine rockets struck Baghdad’s Green Zone, where the parliament is located. As per reports, at least 10 people were wounded in the rocket attack, that delayed the session.
Notably, Iraq has already made three failed attempts to elect a new head of state from February 7 to March 30 this year.
The country has witnessed months of political deadlock after Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as the biggest winner in a parliamentary vote last year, however, failed to rally enough support to form a government.