Iraq parliament to elect president on Oct. 2: Speaker

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

The Iraqi parliament will choose the country’s next president on Oct. 2, Assembly Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi said Tuesday.

The two main political parties in northern Iraq's Kurdish region are both competing to obtain the post, with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) nominating Barham Saleh and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) nominating Fuad Hussein.

“The deadline for electing the next president of the republic has been set for Oct. 2," al-Halbousi told members of the assembly.

On Monday, Abbas Beyatli, deputy leader of Iraq’s Turkmen Nationalist Movement, also announced his intention to vie for the post.

And on Sunday, Sirve Abdulvahid, an independent politician of Kurdish origin, likewise announced her candidacy, becoming Iraq’s first female politician to do so.

Once elected by lawmakers, the new president will task the majority bloc in parliament with drawing up a new government.