Iraqi Parliament elects a new president
The two presidential candidates Barham Salih and Abdul Latif Rashid. Photo: Al-Arabiya News
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Parliament ended on Thursday the secret voting session to elect a new president, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate, Abdul Latif Rashid, won 157 votes in the first round of the voting against 99 votes for Barham Salih.
The parliamentary session began under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the Parliament, Muhammad Al-Halbousi, after the completion of the quorum, which reached, according to the Parliament’s media department, 269 deputies.
The Parliament’s media department announced that the number of voters reached 277 deputies.
The media department also announced that the second round of the voting for the election of the country’s new president started with the participation of 242 deputies.
The New Generation bloc announced it is boycotting the second round of the voting.
The political arena witnessed a remarkable transformation in last hours as Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced in a statement the withdrawal of its candidate, Reber Ahmed.
Candidates Abdul Latif Rashid and Barham Salih will continue the presidential race in the second round of the voting.