\n<\/p>\n
Haybat al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, has been elected as speaker of the new parliament.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\nPublished On 29 Dec 2025<\/span>29 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\nClick here to share on social media<\/p>\nshare2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iraq\u2019s \u200dnewly \u200delected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a significant step in the formation of the new government after months of political turmoil.<\/p>\n<p>Iraqi media reported on Monday, citing parliament\u2019s media office, that al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, had received 208 votes, in a clear victory over two rival contenders with 66 and nine votes, respectively.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Al-Halbousi\u2019s party draws its support largely from Sunni heartlands in the west and north of the country.<\/p>\n<p>Iraqis have been eagerly awaiting the first sitting of parliament, called the Council of Representatives of Iraq, as they look for certainty over the leadership of the country following the November 11 vote, which left a complicated outlook for the formation of the new government.<\/p>\n<p>Under Iraq\u2019s customary muhasasa system, in place since the first government under the post-2003 constitution, parliament is to elect a speaker \u2013 a consensus Sunni candidate \u2013 along with two deputies during its first session.<\/p>\n<p>Following that is the vote for the presidency, a Kurdish candidate, according to muhasasa. The president then nominates the candidate of the largest Shia bloc \u2013 the Shia Coordination Framework (SCF) \u2013 to be named prime minister.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"complicated-picture\">Complicated picture<\/h2>\n<p>Before the election, Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan urged lawmakers to stick to the constitutional timeline for government formation \u2013 a maximum of 90 days \u2013 and the Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ratified the results faster than usual.<\/p>\n<p>But few are expecting a swift result. The process typically takes months \u2013 in 2021, it took more than 300 days \u2013 and there are questions over who the SCF will choose as the right candidate for prime minister.<\/p>\n<p>Incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had been nominated by the SCF four years ago, but had tried to break free from the alliance, running an independent electoral list that won big with about 46 out of 329 seats for his Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC).<\/p>\n<p>But an FSC decision last month sent him back to the SCF and its leadership, many of whom do not hold parliamentary seats but operate as external power brokers.<\/p>\n<p>The SCF now faces the question of whether it backs al-Sudani or an alternative candidate as prime minister, while it grapples with how to respond to the growing parliamentary presence of lawmakers linked to Shia parties with pro-Iran, anti-West armed wings.<\/p>\n<p>Of the SCF\u2019s 180-odd lawmakers, 80 to 90 belong to groups and armed factions close to Iran \u2013 most of them under United States sanctions. In 2021, such groups held only 17 seats.<\/p>\n<p>Their growing presence in parliament potentially presents a problem not only for Iraq\u2019s relations with foreign powers, but for Iraqi Shias who resent Tehran\u2019s powerful influence in the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Haybat al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, has been elected as speaker of the new parliament. Published On 29 Dec 202529 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Iraq\u2019s \u200dnewly \u200delected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a significant step in the formation of the new government after months […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Published On 29 Dec 2025<\/span>29 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\nClick here to share on social media<\/p>\nshare2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iraq\u2019s \u200dnewly \u200delected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a significant step in the formation of the new government after months of political turmoil.<\/p>\n<p>Iraqi media reported on Monday, citing parliament\u2019s media office, that al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, had received 208 votes, in a clear victory over two rival contenders with 66 and nine votes, respectively.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Al-Halbousi\u2019s party draws its support largely from Sunni heartlands in the west and north of the country.<\/p>\n<p>Iraqis have been eagerly awaiting the first sitting of parliament, called the Council of Representatives of Iraq, as they look for certainty over the leadership of the country following the November 11 vote, which left a complicated outlook for the formation of the new government.<\/p>\n<p>Under Iraq\u2019s customary muhasasa system, in place since the first government under the post-2003 constitution, parliament is to elect a speaker \u2013 a consensus Sunni candidate \u2013 along with two deputies during its first session.<\/p>\n<p>Following that is the vote for the presidency, a Kurdish candidate, according to muhasasa. The president then nominates the candidate of the largest Shia bloc \u2013 the Shia Coordination Framework (SCF) \u2013 to be named prime minister.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"complicated-picture\">Complicated picture<\/h2>\n<p>Before the election, Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan urged lawmakers to stick to the constitutional timeline for government formation \u2013 a maximum of 90 days \u2013 and the Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ratified the results faster than usual.<\/p>\n<p>But few are expecting a swift result. The process typically takes months \u2013 in 2021, it took more than 300 days \u2013 and there are questions over who the SCF will choose as the right candidate for prime minister.<\/p>\n<p>Incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had been nominated by the SCF four years ago, but had tried to break free from the alliance, running an independent electoral list that won big with about 46 out of 329 seats for his Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC).<\/p>\n<p>But an FSC decision last month sent him back to the SCF and its leadership, many of whom do not hold parliamentary seats but operate as external power brokers.<\/p>\n<p>The SCF now faces the question of whether it backs al-Sudani or an alternative candidate as prime minister, while it grapples with how to respond to the growing parliamentary presence of lawmakers linked to Shia parties with pro-Iran, anti-West armed wings.<\/p>\n<p>Of the SCF\u2019s 180-odd lawmakers, 80 to 90 belong to groups and armed factions close to Iran \u2013 most of them under United States sanctions. In 2021, such groups held only 17 seats.<\/p>\n<p>Their growing presence in parliament potentially presents a problem not only for Iraq\u2019s relations with foreign powers, but for Iraqi Shias who resent Tehran\u2019s powerful influence in the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Haybat al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, has been elected as speaker of the new parliament. Published On 29 Dec 202529 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Iraq\u2019s \u200dnewly \u200delected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a significant step in the formation of the new government after months […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n
share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iraq\u2019s \u200dnewly \u200delected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a significant step in the formation of the new government after months of political turmoil.<\/p>\n<p>Iraqi media reported on Monday, citing parliament\u2019s media office, that al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, had received 208 votes, in a clear victory over two rival contenders with 66 and nine votes, respectively.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Al-Halbousi\u2019s party draws its support largely from Sunni heartlands in the west and north of the country.<\/p>\n<p>Iraqis have been eagerly awaiting the first sitting of parliament, called the Council of Representatives of Iraq, as they look for certainty over the leadership of the country following the November 11 vote, which left a complicated outlook for the formation of the new government.<\/p>\n<p>Under Iraq\u2019s customary muhasasa system, in place since the first government under the post-2003 constitution, parliament is to elect a speaker \u2013 a consensus Sunni candidate \u2013 along with two deputies during its first session.<\/p>\n<p>Following that is the vote for the presidency, a Kurdish candidate, according to muhasasa. The president then nominates the candidate of the largest Shia bloc \u2013 the Shia Coordination Framework (SCF) \u2013 to be named prime minister.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"complicated-picture\">Complicated picture<\/h2>\n<p>Before the election, Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan urged lawmakers to stick to the constitutional timeline for government formation \u2013 a maximum of 90 days \u2013 and the Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ratified the results faster than usual.<\/p>\n<p>But few are expecting a swift result. The process typically takes months \u2013 in 2021, it took more than 300 days \u2013 and there are questions over who the SCF will choose as the right candidate for prime minister.<\/p>\n<p>Incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had been nominated by the SCF four years ago, but had tried to break free from the alliance, running an independent electoral list that won big with about 46 out of 329 seats for his Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC).<\/p>\n<p>But an FSC decision last month sent him back to the SCF and its leadership, many of whom do not hold parliamentary seats but operate as external power brokers.<\/p>\n<p>The SCF now faces the question of whether it backs al-Sudani or an alternative candidate as prime minister, while it grapples with how to respond to the growing parliamentary presence of lawmakers linked to Shia parties with pro-Iran, anti-West armed wings.<\/p>\n<p>Of the SCF\u2019s 180-odd lawmakers, 80 to 90 belong to groups and armed factions close to Iran \u2013 most of them under United States sanctions. In 2021, such groups held only 17 seats.<\/p>\n<p>Their growing presence in parliament potentially presents a problem not only for Iraq\u2019s relations with foreign powers, but for Iraqi Shias who resent Tehran\u2019s powerful influence in the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Haybat al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, has been elected as speaker of the new parliament. Published On 29 Dec 202529 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Iraq\u2019s \u200dnewly \u200delected parliament has chosen Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker, a significant step in the formation of the new government after months […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}