Politics

Iraqi Parliament Elects Abdul Latif Rashid As New President

Published OCT 13 2022

Story

Image credit: Iraqi Parliament Media Office/Handout [via Reuters]

The Facts

On Thursday, Iraqi lawmakers elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as the country's new president, reportedly garnering more than 160 votes against 99 for the incumbent Barham Salih in a run-off.
Al Jazeera
This comes after three failed attempts to elect a new president – which must be a Kurd according to Iraq's power-sharing political system– earlier this year as the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan couldn't agree on a joint candidate.
Al Arabiya English
After being formally elected, Pres. Rashid offered a mandate to Iran-aligned Coordination Framework's Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to form a government and replace caretaker PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Middle East Eye
Al-Sudani has served as minister in two separate cabinets since joining politics in 2003 and was chosen as the Coordination Framework candidate for the Premiership after the mass resignation of the Sadrist movement MPs.
Shafaq
Mass protests erupted when al-Sudani was first proposed as a candidate during Iraq's yearlong political deadlock, with followers of Moqtada al-Sadr breaching Baghdad's Green Zone and storming the parliament.
Daily Sabah
As lawmakers gathered Thursday to vote, nine Katyusha rockets hit the Green Zone and other parts of Baghdad. PM Kadhimi and Sadr's aide Hassan al-Adhari condemned the attacks, which reportedly saw at least three people injured and damaged buildings and vehicles.
The New York Times

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The election of Rashid and his immediate designation of al-Sudani to form a government marks the end of the long-lasting political deadlock in Iraq, which was caused by the Sadrist movement's undemocratic actions. There's still a long way to go, but Iraq is now on the right path to solving its problems.

PressTV

Establishment-critical narrative

This election might resolve Iraq's political deadlock, but it likely won't be the solution needed to move away from Iraq's defunct political system. Evidence of this is seen in Rashid's first move as president with the immediate appointment of al-Sudani, which will only cause more unrest, and will do little to move away from Iraq's ethno-sectarian power-sharing system.