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.