Fadhila MP gets 117 votes

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: MP Iyad al-Samarraie from the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) has won 117 votes during today’s parliamentary session, dashing his hopes of becoming speaker, according to a parliamentarian from the Fadhila party. “The sorting process inside the Parliament has ended. Samarraie gained 117 votes, Khalil Gaddou (the National Dialogue Council) 43, Abd Motlak al-Jabouri (The Independent Arab Bloc)18, Withab Shakir (Independent) eight and Hussein al-Falluji (Independent) three,” Mohammed Ismail told IraqiNews.com news agency. MP Ahmed Anwar from the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) said that 50 parliamentarians have abstained from voting. The voting process took place this afternoon in the presence of the speaker’s deputies Khalid Atiya and Aref Tayfoor. A total of 220 parliamentarians of the 275-member Parliament attended the session. In December 2008, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani stepped down as Parliament speaker following a heated argument with members of parliamentary committees, during which he allegedly used “offensive” language that prompted many parliamentarians to call for his resignation. SS (P)/SR 1