The Council of Representatives Opens its Sixth Cycle
The Iraqi Council of Representatives opened its first session of the sixth electoral cycle today, Monday, presided over by the Acting Speaker (the eldest member), Mr. Amer al-Fayez, with a broad attendance of 309 deputies. The session resulted in the election of the Speaker and the First Deputy, while the election of the Second Deputy was postponed for further deliberations.
Constitutional Commencement and Oath-Taking The session began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur'an, followed by a speech by the Acting Speaker. He emphasized Article (55) of the Constitution, which mandates the election of the presidency during the first session, stressing the necessity of adhering to constitutional timelines to meet national requirements. During the protocol ceremony, the Members of Parliament took the constitutional oath in both Arabic and Kurdish, marking the beginning of their legislative and oversight duties for the new cycle.
Election of the Speaker After opening nominations for the Speakership, the competition was narrowed down to MPs (Haibat al-Halbousi, Salem Matar al-Issawi, and Amer Abdul-Jabbar), following MP Muthanna Abdul-Samad's withdrawal. The secret ballot resulted in the following:
MP Haibat al-Halbousi: 208 votes (Winner).
MP Salem al-Issawi: 66 votes.
MP Amer Abdul-Jabbar: 9 votes.
Invalid Ballots: 26.
Election of the First Deputy Speaker In the round to elect the First Deputy, MP Adnan Faihan gained the Council's confidence with 177 votes, surpassing his competitor, MP Mohsen al-Mandalawi, who received 107 votes, while 22 invalid ballots were recorded.
Postponement of the Second Deputy Position The position of Second Deputy Speaker saw intense competition between MPs Ribwar Karim and Shakhwan Abdullah. Two rounds of voting failed to reach a conclusion as neither candidate secured an absolute majority:
Round 1: Ribwar Karim received 153 votes; Shakhwan Abdullah received 119 votes.
Round 2: Ribwar Karim received 156 votes; Shakhwan Abdullah received 102 votes. Consequently, Acting Speaker Amer al-Fayez decided to adjourn the session and postpone the election of the Second Deputy to a later time, allowing political forces to conduct further deliberations and reach a final consensus.