Kurdish Politician Barham Salih Becomes Iraq's New President

CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2018) The Iraqi parliament elected Barham Salih of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) as president of the country in the second round of voting on Tuesday, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Halbusi said in a television broadcast.

Salih, who was prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan in 2009-2012, faced a challenge from Fuad Hussein of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

A total of 265 lawmakers took part in the secret ballot.

The Iraqi president is elected by the country's parliament, which was formed after the May 12 general election, the first voting since the defeat of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).

The election was won by the Sairun Alliance, backed by prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, which gained 54 seats in the 329-seat parliament. The Sairun Alliance is followed by the Conquest Alliance led by Hadi Amiri, with 47 seats, while Prime Minister Haider Abadi's Victory Alliance closes the top three list with 42 seats. The Kurdistan Democratic Party has 25 seats, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has 18 mandates in the new parliament.

The results of the vote were ratified by the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq just as late as August 19 due to multiple violations during the election process, which urged the authorities to resort to a manual recount of votes.