ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is set to keep Shakhawan Abdullah as its candidate for the post of the Iraqi parliament’s second deputy speaker, despite the lawmaker failing to come out on top in two rounds of vote on Monday.

The Iraqi parliament is reportedly set to reconvene on Tuesday afternoon to elect the second deputy speaker, after neither candidate managed to score an absolute majority required to secure the post in two rounds of vote on Monday.

KDP’s Shakhawan Abdullah and National Stance (Halwest) Movement’s Rebwar Karim are competing for the second deputy speaker position, a post traditionally reserved for Kurds.

“The KDP's candidate for the position of second deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament remains Shakhawan Abdullah until now, and there is no decision to change,” Danar Abdulghaffar, a KDP lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament, told The New Region.

The Halwest candidate managed to snatch a majority in two rounds of voting on Monday, but failed to secure the required absolute majority.

Iraqi state media late Monday reported that “intense dialogue” took place between Kurdish forces in the Iraqi parliament before the second round of voting took place. 

A win for Karim would mark a surprising deviation from expectations, as Abdullah was deemed a heavy favorite to retain the post going into Monday’s session.

Monday’s parliamentary session marked the first of the legislature’s new term, during which the new lawmakers took the legal oath. The parliament then elected Taqadum Party’s Haibat al-Halbousi as speaker, and Sadiqoun Movement’s Adnan Fayhan as first deputy speaker.