Haybat al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Celebration, has been elected as speaker of the brand new parliament.
Printed On 29 Dec 2025
Iraq’s newly elected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a major step within the formation of the brand new authorities after months of political turmoil.
Iraqi media reported on Monday, citing parliament’s media workplace, that al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Celebration, had acquired 208 votes, in a transparent victory over two rival contenders with 66 and 9 votes, respectively.
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Al-Halbousi’s social gathering attracts its help largely from Sunni heartlands within the west and north of the nation.
Iraqis have been eagerly awaiting the primary sitting of parliament, referred to as the Council of Representatives of Iraq, as they search for certainty over the management of the nation following the November 11 vote, which left a complicated outlook for the formation of the brand new authorities.
Below Iraq’s customary muhasasa system, in place for the reason that first authorities beneath the post-2003 structure, parliament is to elect a speaker – a consensus Sunni candidate – together with two deputies throughout its first session.
Following that’s the vote for the presidency, a Kurdish candidate, based on muhasasa. The president then nominates the candidate of the most important Shia bloc – the Shia Coordination Framework (SCF) – to be named prime minister.
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Earlier than the election, Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan urged lawmakers to stay to the constitutional timeline for presidency formation – a most of 90 days – and the Federal Supreme Courtroom (FSC) ratified the outcomes quicker than regular.
However few expect a swift consequence. The method sometimes takes months – in 2021, it took greater than 300 days – and there are questions over who the SCF will select as the precise candidate for prime minister.
Incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had been nominated by the SCF 4 years in the past, however had tried to interrupt free from the alliance, working an unbiased electoral record that won big with about 46 out of 329 seats for his Reconstruction and Growth Coalition (RDC).
However an FSC choice final month despatched him again to the SCF and its management, lots of whom don’t maintain parliamentary seats however function as exterior energy brokers.
The SCF now faces the query of whether or not it backs al-Sudani or an alternate candidate as prime minister, whereas it grapples with how to answer the rising parliamentary presence of lawmakers linked to Shia events with pro-Iran, anti-West armed wings.
Of the SCF’s 180-odd lawmakers, 80 to 90 belong to teams and armed factions near Iran – most of them beneath United States sanctions. In 2021, such teams held solely 17 seats.
Their rising presence in parliament probably presents an issue not just for Iraq’s relations with overseas powers, however for Iraqi Shias who resent Tehran’s highly effective affect within the nation.
