Iraqi parliament members elected former minister Abdul Latif as the country’s next president | World news

Iraqi lawmakers on Wednesday elected former minister Abdul Latif Rashid as the country’s next president, defying threats of further violence after a spate of rocket attacks earlier in the day and taking a key step toward ending a lingering political vacuum.

At least nine rockets have targeted the Iraqi Parliament in the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of government, ahead of a much-anticipated session where lawmakers are pushing ahead with forming the next government despite the political crisis. At least five people were injured.

According to Iraqi law, the president must call the largest group of Parliament to appoint an executive. 329 Iraqi parliamentary seats.

The Iran-backed Coalition, made up of mostly Shiite groups, has nominated Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as its leader, after submitting a letter claiming to be the largest party on Thursday.

Latif, 78, was elected with 162 votes out of 261 votes cast. He served as minister of water resources from 2003 to 2010 and has been an adviser to the mayor since then. Outgoing President Barham Saleh reportedly walked out of parliament as the votes tallied. He lost with 99 votes.

Iraqi law gives Latif 15 days to choose a prime minister, possibly in this case al-Sudani, to present his line of ministers to Parliament to face another vote.

In Iraq’s power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for the Kurdish parties to choose from while the leadership falls under the Shiite parties. The speaker of the parliament is a Sunni.

Political strife and repeated conflicts prevent the selection of a new government after federal elections are held in October 2021. The crisis has been fueled by a strong political rivalry between the prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and former Prime Minister Nouri al -Maliki, who is supported by Iran.

The real test moving forward for the country’s crisis-hit parties will be the official election of a new prime minister and cabinet lineup with al-Sadr apparently out of the political process after dismissing his lawmakers in Parliament and since announced his withdrawal from politics.

The rocket attack delayed but did not postpone the legislative session.

At least one rocket landed close to the parliament building ahead of the meeting, Iraqi officials said. More falls in other areas within the Green Zone area.

At least five people were wounded in the attack – three civilians and two military personnel – security officials said without giving further details. The culprits were not immediately identified.

The attacks, which appeared to be an attempt to disrupt the conference, came after the Coalition, a coalition of Shiite groups that support most of Iran and led by al-Maliki, sent a letter of it is correct saying that it is the largest party in the Parliament. .

The coalition named Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as their choice for the first position.

Al-Sadr had already rejected al-Sudani’s candidacy and ordered his supporters to storm the parliament on June 30 to undermine his candidacy.

Al-Sadr’s party won the largest number of seats in the October 2021 general election, but ordered its lawmakers to resign after failing to secure a majority to elect a government that would eliminate Iranian-backed rivals. Violent street fighting erupted for 24 hours between al-Sadr’s supporters and Iraqi security forces on August 29, bringing the country to the brink of civil war.

There were many protests by supporters of al-Sadr, a political opponent of Ilana, before Wednesday’s meeting.

Mark Bryson-Richardson, Britain’s ambassador to Iraq, called the rocket attack “completely unacceptable.”

“Violence has no part in the political process and state institutions must be allowed to function,” he tweeted.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

It is not the first time that a rocket attack has targeted the parliament as lawmakers prepared to attend a session.

On September 28, three rockets targeted the Green Zone as a group held a rally to renew confidence in parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.