ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) Farhad Atrushi on Tuesday was elected as the second deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament after two failed attempts by the party to secure the federal post. The parliament also opened a three-day window for political parties to submit their candidates for the position of president.
The KDP nominated Atrushi, former governor of Duhok, after its initial candidate, Shakhawan Abdullah, failed to secure a second term.
Following his election, Atrushi told Rudaw he would seek to implement his party’s campaign promises by ensuring the federal constitution is implemented and Kurdish rights are secured. Atrushi previously served as a lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament and worked as a lecturer at the University of Duhok.
Atrushi’s rival, Rebwar Karim of the Kurdish opposition the National Stance Movement (Halwest), received the highest number of votes in the first round. That round was contested between Karim and Abdullah, but Karim failed to secure the required majority.
Karim told Rudaw there was "a lot of effort" to make him withdraw from the race, but he refused to specify who pressured him to do so.
Ali Hama Saleh, the leader of Halwest, said in a post on Facebook after the race ended that “the greater victory for us was that we did not give in to anyone’s pressure and continued.”
Before the final vote was held, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) lawmaker Rekawt Hama Rashid told Rudaw the party supported Atrushi to show goodwill.
“We have voted for him, to show our goodwill and so that the Kurdistan Democratic Party will support our candidate for the republic’s presidency and show us the same goodwill,” the parliamentarian said.
The KDP and PUK have failed to agree on a unified Kurdish candidate for Iraq’s presidency, with both parties pursuing the post independently. KDP lawmaker Danar Abdulghafar told Rudaw on Monday that PUK lawmakers were “gathering votes for Dr. Rebwar [Karim], they were working for it, lobbying for it.”
Hama Rashid confirmed that they did not back Abdullah without providing a clear explanation.
Following the vote, Abdullah, the former second deputy speaker, told Rudaw: “What is important is that this position has returned to the KDP and to Kurds because this position must be protected.” All candidates in the race were Kurdish.
The parliament also opened a three-day window for parties to submit candidates for the mostly ceremonial post of president. While the position has largely been held by the PUK since the 2003 US-led invasion, the KDP is also seeking the post.
Under Iraq’s informal power-sharing system established after 2003, the parliament speakership is reserved for Sunni Arabs, the premiership for Shiites, and the presidency for Kurds.
Updated at 8:44 pm.
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