Iraqi Parliament Leadership Agrees on Legislative Roadmap and Committee Formation
The meeting stressed the importance of activating parliament’s constitutional role through effective legislation and enhanced oversight of government performance.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Senior leaders of the Iraqi Council of Representatives on Sunday agreed on key measures aimed at strengthening parliament’s legislative and oversight performance during its sixth term.
Parliament Speaker Haibet Halbousi met with First Deputy Speaker Adnan Faihan and Second Deputy Speaker Farhad Atrushi to discuss the council’s operational framework and the responsibilities of lawmakers in the coming phase. The meeting stressed the importance of activating parliament’s constitutional role through effective legislation and enhanced oversight of government performance.
Among the main outcomes of the meeting was an agreement to set a work schedule for eight monthly parliamentary sessions. The leadership also decided to form a committee composed of heads of parliamentary factions to propose a mechanism for distributing MPs across the standing committees.
According to the decision, committee assignments will be based on lawmakers’ expertise, internal bylaws, and eligibility criteria, allowing the committees to begin their work without delay. Parliamentary leaders emphasized that specialized committees are essential for the House of Representatives to function efficiently as Iraq’s primary legislative authority.
The developments come days after the first session of the sixth term of the Iraqi parliament convened at 1:15 p.m. on December 29, with 292 lawmakers in attendance. The session was chaired by Amer Faiz, the oldest serving member of parliament, who supervised the swearing-in of newly elected MPs. Following the constitutional oath, nominations were opened for parliamentary leadership positions.
During the same session, Adnan Faihan was elected first deputy speaker, while Haibet Halbousi, representing the Progress Party, secured the speakership with 208 votes out of 309. On December 30, Farhad Atrushi of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was elected second deputy speaker in a vote held during a subsequent parliamentary session.
The new leadership is expected to oversee the formation of committees and the launch of legislative activity in the coming weeks.