President Masoud Barzani Congratulates New Iraqi Parliamentary Leadership

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – President Masoud Barzani on Tuesday congratulated the newly elected leadership of the Iraqi House of Representatives, expressing hope that the new parliament will work to serve citizens and strengthen unity across the country.

In a post on social media platform X, President Barzani congratulated Haibet Halbousi on his election as Speaker of the Iraqi House of Representatives, along with Adnan Faihan as First Deputy Speaker and Farhad Atrushi as Second Deputy Speaker. He wished them success in their new roles, voicing hope that the formation of the new parliamentary leadership would help address pressing national issues and promote brotherhood and unity among all components of Iraqi society.

The congratulatory message came amid the completion of the leadership formation process during a session of the sixth parliamentary term. Farhad Atrushi, of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was elected as second deputy speaker during a vote held on Tuesday, securing 178 votes and defeating his rival, Rebwar Karim, who received 104 votes, according to official results announced in parliament.

Atrushi’s election followed earlier votes to fill the remaining top posts. On Monday, Adnan Faihan was elected as the first deputy speaker, while Haibet Halbousi, the candidate of the Progress Party, won the speakership after receiving 208 votes out of a total of 309, Kurdistan24 correspondent Dilan Barzan reported.

The first session of the sixth term of the Iraqi parliament convened at 1:15 p.m. on Monday with 292 lawmakers in attendance. The session was chaired by Amer Faiz, the oldest serving member of parliament, who oversaw the swearing-in of newly elected MPs. After the constitutional oath, the floor was opened for self-nominations for parliamentary leadership positions, paving the way for the election of the new speaker and his deputies.