Salih won the election with 219 votes to 22.
(meta data) TITLE: Iraq: Parliament elects Barham Salih as new president | News | Al Jazeera (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: Mon Aug 05 2019 15:27:34 GMT+0000 AJ Impact In Pictures Middle East # Iraq: Parliament elects Barham Salih as new president The Kurdish moderate politician has named veteran Shia politician Adel Abdul Mahdi as prime minister-designate. 02 Oct 2018 20:47 GMT Salih is a former deputy prime minister of the Iraqi federal government [Reuters] Iraq's legislators have elected veteran Kurdish politician Barham Salih as the country's new president, the state television reports. Salih is a former prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and a former deputy prime minister of the Iraqi federal government. Widely seen as a moderate, Salih was chosen on Tuesday after a dispute between the two main Kurdish parties delayed the vote, eventually forcing them to choose among 20 nominees. Salih routed his main rival, Fuad Hussein, with 219 votes to 22. Shia legislator Hamid al-Moussawi said the session was delayed because the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan were unable to agree on a single candidate. The new president will have 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a new government. Under an unofficial agreement dating back to the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq's presidency - a largely ceremonial role - is held by a Kurd, while the prime minister is Shia and the parliament speaker is Sunni. ## New Prime Minister-designate Salih has named veteran Shia politician Adel Abdul Mahdi as prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a new government, two legislators told the Reuters news agency. According to Iraq's constitution, Abdul Mahdi now has 30 days to form a government and present it to parliament for approval. Abdul Mahdi was named by Salih less than two hours after he was elected president. Tuesday's poll follows a weekend parliamentary election in the Kurdish autonomous region, mired in economic crisis and still in shock from the fallout of the referendum which sparked a punishing response from Baghdad. SOURCE: News agencies Middle East Have your say. Give us feedback. Sign up for ourNewsletter. ## TRENDING Trump slammed for saying any Jew voting Democratic is 'disloyal' Fresh clashes between separatists, government in Yemeni south Indonesia deploys troops to West Papua region as protests spread 'Fighting back': Kashmir enclave blocks entry of Indian troops ## YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE ### Interactive: Plundering Cambodia's forests Meet the man on a mission to take down Cambodia's timber tycoons and expose a rampant illegal cross-border trade. 05 Aug 2019 15:27 GMT ### The priceless racism of the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip has done the world an extraordinary service by exposing the racist hypocrisy of "Western civilisation". 13 Aug 2017 13:05 GMT ### China will determine the future of Venezuela There are a number of reasons why Beijing continues to back Maduro's government despite suffering financial losses. 14 Jul 2019 13:27 GMT
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Fuad Hussein
Politics.
He was appointed as Chief of Staff of Masoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government. In September 2018, the Kurdistan Democratic Party nominated him to be President of Iraq. Under the Iraqi political tradition of "muḥāṣaṣah", the presidency was reserved for a Kurd. The KDP claimed the right as the largest Kurdish political party in the May general election to nominate their candidate. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan also nominated a candidate, Barham Salih, and the two parties were unable to agree a consensus. This meant that the decision went to a secret ballot of the newly elected MPs in the Council of Representatives—a first since the invasion of Iraq.