Barham Salih elected new president of Iraq
Baghdad, Oct 3 : Iraqi lawmakers have elected Barham Salih as the new president of Iraq after a protracted political wrangling, marking a crucial step in forming the government in the next four years.
Salih gained 219 votes out of a total of 272 lawmakers who cast their votes on Tuesday in the second round of voting, advancing on his rival Fuad Hussein who gained 22 votes in the session, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the first round of voting, any of about 20 candidates, who were competing for the president post, had failed to win the two-third of the total 329 parliament members needed for the post. But Barham Salih gained the highest votes 165, while Fuad Hussein came in the second place with 89 votes out of about 300 lawmakers who cast their votes in the first round.
According to the Iraqi constitution, the president-elect needs to gather at least two thirds of the votes of the 329 parliament members. If the parliament lawmakers fail to vote by a two-third majority, the two candidates with the highest number of votes shall compete with each other.
The one receiving the majority of votes in the second round of vote shall be declared the president of Iraq.
After being elected as the new president, Salih sworn in as the president of Iraq and told the lawmakers, "I will protect the unity of Iraq and its independence, and it is a great honour to be elected president of the Republic of Iraq."
"I will be the president of Iraq and not for a certain group, entity or component," Salih pledged.
"I will work according to the democratic system," he said, recalling "the martyrs of Iraq, victims of mass graves, Halabja and all the martyrs."
Afterwards, the Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi adjourned the session to next Tuesday.
According to the constitution, Salih will have 15 days after taking office to task the nominee of the largest alliance to form the government of the next four years.
The Iraqi media reports said that the independent politician Adel Abdul-Mahdi will be the nominee of the largest alliance, after the contesting two alliances who previously claimed they were the largest alliance reached a consensus that they both nominated Mahdi as their candidate for the next prime minister post.
Barham Ahmed Salih, 58, is a veteran Kurdish politician, born in the city of Sulaimaniyah in northeastern Iraq. He was former prime minister of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan from 2001 to 2004.
Later, he became deputy prime minister of the federal government and occupied many ministerial posts in Baghdad and Erbil in the last 15 years.
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Political row in Bengal after 104-year-old man put under 'adjudication category' in electoral rolls
Kolkata (PTI): A 104-year-old man has complained of being listed in the "under adjudication" category in the final electoral rolls issued by the Election Commission following the SIR exercise in West Bengal on February 28, officials said on Wednesday.
Sheikh Ibrahim, a resident of Jamalpur gram panchayat in Purba Bardhaman district, said he has voted in every election since India’s first general polls after Independence and had never faced such an experience.
"Is it a crime to live beyond 100 years? I have always believed in casting votes and exercising my democratic rights. Why can't I vote this time? This is my country," he said.
His 70-year-old son said that after his father was called for a hearing at camps "due to some logical discrepancies as claimed by the EC," EC officials later visited their residence, and all necessary documents were submitted.
"The EC official who conducted the hearing expressed satisfaction and assured his name will be in the rolls. However, after the final rolls were published, we found his name listed ‘under adjudication category.’ We fail to comprehend why," his son said.
Flagging the matter, the TMC alleged on X that "104-year-old Sheikh Ibrahim, who was born in pre-Independent India and has voted in every election since the first general elections, was summoned for a hearing and subjected to harassment after being included in the ‘under adjudication’ list."
"Can you imagine the extent of harassment he has faced? How much lower will the Commission stoop?" the party asked.
"Do they think they can gift Bengal to the BJP by deleting names of valid voters even before the elections? It is not that easy. Bengal knows how to respond, and it knows how to fight," the post read.
There was no immediate response from the EC or the BJP to the allegations.
