ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iraqi parliament on Monday voted to elect the first and second deputies to its new speaker Haibat al-Halbousi, with Sadiqoun's Adnan Fayhan being named first deputy, and Shakhawan Abdullah, the incumbent second deputy speaker, retaining his post. 

Polling for the first and second deputies started after the parliament's speaker was determined in a vote earlier in the day. The first deputy position saw the Sadiqoun bloc's Fayhan run against incumbent deputy speaker Muhsin al-Mandalawi, besting the latter by 178 votes to 107. 

The second deputy speaker, traditionally reserved for Kurds, was contested between the Kurdish opposition National Stance Movement’s (Halwest) Rebwar Karim and the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) Shakhawan Abdullah.

Abdullah was reelected to serve for another term in the position after midnight, following a scare in a first round of voting saw him trail behind Karim by nearly 40 votes. The first round of voting however did not result in an absolute majority in favor of either candidate, leading to a second round of voting which saw Abdullah victorious.

Within 30 days of the first session, the parliament must also elect a president for the country, which is reserved for Kurds, who would in turn name a prime minister-designate, selected by the largest parliamentary bloc, and task them with the formation of the Council of Ministers within fifteen days.

The prime minister-designate would need to be replaced by the president if the cabinet fails to be formed in a timely manner.