First Deputy Speaker Fayhan vows action on stalled Iraqi laws

Shafaq News– Baghdad

Iraq’s newly-elected First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Adnan Fayhan, pledged on Monday to push forward long-delayed legislation, placing the issue at the center of the legislature’s agenda for the current term.

Speaking at a press conference following his election, Fayhan described parliament’s role as combining effective oversight with support for the government program, stressing the need to safeguard national sovereignty and maintain political stability.

“Iraqis expect concrete results from lawmakers, particularly progress on laws that have remained stalled,” he added.

Parliament, meeting earlier in the day for its opening session, elected Fayhan and selected Haibet Al-Halbousi as speaker for the sixth legislative term. Official results showed Fayhan winning 177 votes, defeating rival candidate Mohsin Al-Mandalawi, who secured 107 votes, while 22 ballots were ruled invalid.

For the second deputy speaker post, Shakhawan Abdullah of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc and Rebar Karim of the Al-Mawqif Movement have announced their candidacy, with selection procedures still underway.

Parliament’s leadership consists of a speaker and two deputies. Under political conventions established after 2003, the speaker’s post is allocated to a Sunni Arab, the first deputy speakership to a Shiite Arab, and the second deputy speakership to a Kurd.

Read more: Iraq’s speakership: Two decades of constitutional rules and backroom deals