Farhad Atroushi wins the position of Second Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament
On Tuesday evening, members of the Iraqi Parliament elected Farhad Amin Atrushi, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, as the second deputy speaker of the parliament, after a third round of voting was held due to the failure to achieve a parliamentary majority in the previous two rounds, in which Shakhwan Abdullah, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, competed with Ribwar Karim, a member of the Al-Mawqif bloc, on Monday evening.
A Shafaq News Agency correspondent reported that MP Farhad Amin Atroushi received 178 votes, while his rival, MP Ribwar Karim, received 104 votes, in the third round of voting.
An informed source told Shafaq News Agency that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) moved on Tuesday to replace its previous candidate, MP Shakhwan Abdullah, with MP Farhad Atrushi to fill the position.
He pointed out that the Kurdistan Democratic Party stipulated the withdrawal of Shakhwan Abdullah’s nomination in exchange for the withdrawal of the candidate of the Al-Mawqif Current, Ribwar Karim, indicating that the heads of the political blocs informed the Al-Mawqif Current of this, but the Current refused and insisted on nominating Ribwar Karim for the position of second deputy speaker of parliament.
He noted that there is a binding decision from the Federal Court for all authorities stipulating that it is not permissible to replace candidates for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputies, but rather the elections are held between the candidates who registered themselves for the first time, except in the case of the withdrawal of all candidates in order to reopen the nomination process again.
The new Iraqi parliament failed on Monday to decide on the position of its second deputy speaker during the opening session of the sixth term, despite its success in electing the speaker, Hebat al-Halbousi, a leader in the “Progress” alliance, and his first deputy, Adnan Faihan, a leader in the “Sadiqun” movement, which led to referring the election to a third round.
The Presidency of the House of Representatives consists of a Speaker and two Deputy Speakers, who manage the legislative sessions and organize the work of the Council. According to the political traditions followed after 2003, the position of Speaker of Parliament is allocated to the Sunni component, the First Deputy Speaker to the Shiite component, and the Second Deputy Speaker to the Kurdish component.
According to constitutional procedures, the election of the Speaker of Parliament and his two deputies is supposed to be followed by the election of the President of the Republic within 30 days of the first session, with the President subsequently tasking the largest bloc with forming the government, a process that may extend for months due to the complexities of political agreements.
Shafaq.com