Iraq’s parliament elects new speaker, ending yearlong deadlock
Al Jazeera
Former Sunni speaker secured 182 votes in the 329-seat legislature with significant support from Shia political blocs.
Iraq’s parliament has elected Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a prominent Sunni lawmaker who has a close relationship with Iran, as its new speaker after months of deadlock among political factions.
Al-Mashhadani, who served a previous stint as speaker from 2006 to 2009, was selected by a vote of 182 of the 269 legislators who attended the session on Thursday. Parliament has 329 seats.
In November 2023, the Federal Supreme Court abruptly terminated the tenure of the most powerful Sunni parliament speaker, Mohammed al-Halbousi, without saying why, setting the stage for a fight over succession that dragged on for close to 12 months.
Al-Halbousi, who had served as the governor of Anbar province, was elected in 2018. He was 37 at the time and became the youngest parliament speaker in the country’s history. He was re-elected in 2022 for a second term and served until his removal in 2023.
Al-Mashhadani secured his election with significant support from the coalition that includes influential Shia parties and Iran-aligned groups along with the State of Law coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
