ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi retained his position after his resignation was rejected during Wednesday’s parliament session, while Kurdish independent MP Muhsin al-Mandalawi was elected as the legislature’s first deputy speaker.
“The parliament voted to renew confidence in Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi,” state media said, adding that Halbousi’s resignation was rejected by MPs with a 222 to 13 vote.
Muhsin al-Mandalawi was elected first deputy speaker of the parliament during the session, replacing Hakim al-Zamili of the Sadrist bloc after the party’s resignation from the legislature.
The Iraqi parliament convened as the main Kurdish, Sunni, and pro-Iran Shiite political blocs are expected to announce the formation of a new coalition with Iraq approaching a year without a permanent cabinet.
Prior to the session’s commencement, supporters of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr flocked to the streets of Baghdad in attempts to block the parliament from convening, but were thwarted by heavy security presence in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.
The parliament’s session on Wednesday was its first since June 23 after meetings were suspended due to concerning protests in Baghdad when Sadr supporters stormed the parliament and demanded its dissolution as well as early elections amid suffocating political unrest in the country.
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