Iraqi Parliament Opens Nominations for President of the Republic

Iraqi parliament media office

Iraqi parliament hall.

The Iraqi Parliament resumed its first session of the sixth parliamentary term on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, under the chairmanship of the oldest member, MP Amer Al-Fayez, with 309 members in attendance. MP Farhad Amin Al-Atroushi was elected Deputy Speaker of the Parliament.

According to a statement from the Parliament’s Media Office, the presiding MP, Amer Al-Fayez, announced that he had received a request from MP Shakhwan Abdullah to withdraw his candidacy for the post of Deputy Speaker, stressing the Parliament’s commitment to fulfilling its constitutional duties.

In a related development, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) parliamentary bloc nominated MP Farhad Al-Atroushi to replace Dr Shakhawan Abdullah after the Parliament voted to reopen nominations.

The Parliament subsequently voted to elect Dr Farhad Amin Al-Atroushi as Deputy Speaker. He secured 178 votes out of 294 cast, while MP Ribwar Karim received 104 votes, with 12 ballots deemed invalid.

In his address to the session, Speaker of Parliament Haibat al-Halbousi congratulated Members of Parliament on earning the confidence of the Iraqi people. He also congratulated the two Deputy Speakers on gaining the confidence of the Parliament, officially announcing the start of the sixth parliamentary term. He expressed his appreciation to the acting speaker for presiding over the first session and overseeing the election of the Speaker in line with constitutional deadlines.

Al-Halbousi emphasised the need to address certain aspects of parliamentary performance during the current phase, highlighting the Parliament’s central role as the source of government formation and legislation. He underlined the importance of collective work with parliamentary committees to strengthen oversight and legislative functions, noting that the position entails significant responsibility and requires a high level of commitment in managing the Parliament alongside the two Deputy Speakers, in accordance with constitutional timelines.

The Speaker also announced the opening of nominations for the post of President of the Republic for a period of three days, calling on the representative of the largest parliamentary bloc to formally submit its declaration.

During the same session, MP Youssef Al-Kalabi, representing the Coordination Framework bloc, submitted the declaration of the largest parliamentary bloc to the Speaker of Parliament. The session was then adjourned until 5 January 2026.


PUKMEDIA