Kurdistan PM congratulates Iraqi parliament’s speaker, deputies
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani late Sunday congratulated the Iraqi parliament's speaker and his deputies who were elected during a legislative session earlier.
I spoke to Speaker @AlHaLboosii tonight to congratulate him on his re-election. I look forward to continuing to work closely with him for all the country and Erbil-Baghdad ties in particular.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) January 9, 2022
I also congratulate both new deputies Hakim al-Zamili and Shakhawan Abdullah- mb.
"I look forward to continuing to work closely with him for all the country and Erbil-Baghdad ties in particular," Prime Minister Barzani said, noting he had spoken with Mohamed al-Halbousi, who was re-elected for a second term as the body's speaker.
Halbousi secured 200 votes out of 228 and is the first politician to be elected the chair of Iraq's parliament twice.
Lawmakers also elected Hakim al-Zamili from the Sadrist bloc and Shakawan Abdulla of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) as the body's first and second deputies, respectively.
The session was first chaired by Mahmood al-Mashahadani, the legislature's eldest member. He was soon rushed to a hospital after a tense first few hours in the house, amid heated disputes among Sadrist and Iran-aligned blocs.
The senior lawmaker's condition is now stable after being treated at a Baghdad hospital.