Haibat al-Halbousi elected Iraq’s parliament speaker as new legislature convenes

Iraq continues to face challenges as it navigates between the Iranian influence on the country and a push by the US and others to roll back Iranian-backed militias.

Iraq’s parliament elected a new speaker on Monday. This is important because it is the first major appointment of the parliament since the November elections.

Iraq continues to face challenges as it navigates between the Iranian influence on the country and a push by the US and others to roll back Iranian-backed militias.

Rudaw media in Iraq’s Kurdistan region reported that “Haibat al-Halbousi, a member of the Sunni Taqaddum Party, was elected speaker of Iraq’s parliament on Monday during the first session of the legislature’s sixth term, after Sunni parties entered the session without consensus on a single candidate.” He ran against Salim Matar al-Issawi of the Sovereignty Alliance party.

The Taqaddum party previously held the speaker’s role under Mohamed al-Halbousi, who served from 2018 to 2023. It was not clear from the report whether the two Halbousis were related.

Rudaw noted that Iraq’s Parliament “convened amid political disputes over the speakership, with multiple candidates competing for the post. Halbousi ran against Salim Matar al-Issawi of the Sovereignty Alliance and Shiite lawmaker Amer Abdul-Jabbar, ultimately securing the required support.”

Haibat al-Halbousi wins Iraq speaker vote with 208 votes

The final vote showed that Halbousi had won 208 votes to Issawi’s 66. In Iraq, the top offices of the country are filled by different sectarian groups, with the prime minister being a Shi’ite, the parliament speaker a Sunni, and the president a Kurd. The prime minister is the most powerful position in the country.

On the eve of the vote, the Azm party candidate, Muthanna al-Samarrai, withdrew from the race to unify Sunni votes.

The Sunni Arabs in Iraq lost power when Saddam was overthrown and have generally felt beleaguered and less represented over the last two decades.

Rudaw noted that the new speaker of parliament was born in 1980 and holds a master’s degree in political science.

“The session was chaired by Amer al-Fayez, the oldest member of parliament and head of the Shiite Tasmim Alliance, in line with parliament’s bylaws. Following a late-night meeting on Sunday, most Sunni blocs agreed to nominate Halbousi as their candidate, while the Azm Alliance put forward its leader, Muthanna al-Samarrai, setting the stage for a contested vote. During the session, however, Samarrai withdrew from the race and endorsed Halbousi,” the report said.

Now the big question for Iraq will be who becomes prime minister. “Attention has now shifted to the deputy speaker positions. Shiite blocs have nominated Adnan Faihan al-Dulaimani for the first deputy speaker position, alongside incumbent Muhsin al-Mandalawi. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has officially nominated Shakhawan Abdullah, the current second deputy speaker, to retain his post,” Rudaw noted.