The election ended a months-long political impasse and came just hours after rockets hit areas near Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Even as rockets landed near the parliament building, Iraqi lawmakers elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as the country’s new president, paving the way for the formation of a new government and ending a year of deadlock.
Rashid succeeded fellow Iraqi Kurd Barham Saleh as president following a two-round vote in parliament on Thursday, winning more than 160 votes to 99 for Saleh, according to an assembly official. As the votes were being counted, Saleh reportedly walked out of the parliament building.
After a year of deadlock, Shia politician Mohammed Shia al-Sudani was quickly named prime minister-designate, taking on the task of reconciling feuding Shia factions and forming a government. Mustafa al-Kadhemi, the caretaker prime minister, is replaced by al-Sudani.
In Iraq’s power-sharing system, Kurdish groups nominate for the presidency, while Shia blocs nominate for the premiership. Sunni is the speaker of parliament.
According to Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Baghdad, Rashid’s election signals that “this chapter of rivalry has been concluded in the Iraqi parliament,” though forming a government may still be difficult.
