Haibat al-Halbousi Elected as Speaker of Iraq’s Sixth Parliamentary Term

PUKMEDIA

The first session of the Iraqi parliament's sixth term, 29 December 2025.

The first session of the Iraqi parliament in its sixth electoral term commenced on Monday afternoon, 29 December 2025, during which Haibat al-Halbousi was elected as speaker of Iraq’s sixth parliamentary term.

The session began with a welcoming address from the Secretary-General of the parliament, followed by the reading of the names of the winning candidates as confirmed by the Federal Court.

Amer al-Fayez, speaker of the new parliament by age, then addressed the assembly, reaffirming adherence to constitutional timelines, before officially opening the first legislative session of the sixth term after confirming a quorum of 309 members out of 329.

The proceedings began with a recitation from the Holy Quran, after which members, alongside the Speaker, took the legal oath. Representatives from the Kurdistan Region recited the oath in both Arabic and Kurdish. Following this, the Speaker declared: “We are now legally and religiously mandated to serve as members of the sixth term of the Council of Representatives.”

In accordance with Article 55 of the Constitution, the Speaker subsequently opened nominations for the position of Speaker of the parliament.

After the submission of the candidates’ names—Salem al-Issawi, Haibat al-Halbousi and Amer Abdul-Jabbar— Muthanna al-Samarrai, leader of the Azm Alliance, announced his withdrawal from the race for the presidency of the parliament. Following his withdrawal, the nomination process was officially closed.

Elections for the sixth term of the Iraqi parliament were held on 11 November 2025, with the Federal Supreme Court ratifying the final results on 14 December, following which, Iraqi President Abdullatif Jamal Rashid issued a presidential decree calling for the newly elected parliament to convene on 29 December 2025.

The decree follows constitutional procedures for government formation. Article 54 of the Iraqi Constitution stipulates that the first session must be held within 15 days of the Federal Supreme Court’s ratification of the general election results, and requires the President to formally summon Parliament to convene.

Haibat al-Halbousi has been elected Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives after securing an absolute majority of 208 votes.


Moreover, Adnan Faihan has been elected First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi parliament.





PUKMEDIA