IAF MP got 123 votes, not 117- legislator

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: MP Iyad al-Samarraie from the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) has won 123 votes, not 117 during today’s parliamentary session, according to a parliamentarian from the Fadhila party. “First Deputy Speaker Sheikh Khaled Atiya said that the Parliament’s presidential board has announced that Samarraie has won 123 votes, not 117 after re-sorting the votes,” Mohammed Ismail told IraqiNews.com news agency. Ismail noted that a total of 45 parliamentarians have abstained from voting, adding that a second voting round will take place tomorrow. Five candidates are running for the Parliament’s speaker: Samarraie, Khalil Gaddou (The National Dialogue Council), Abd Motlak al-Jabouri (The Independent Arab Bloc), Withab Shakir (Independent) and Hussein al-Falluji (Independent). The voting process took place this afternoon in the presence of the speaker’s deputies Atiya and Aref Tayfoor. A total of 235 parliamentarians of the 275-member Parliament attended the session, according to Ismail. 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 (S)/SR 1