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On October 13, a rocket attack targeted the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, as a controversial parliament session was about to begin to elect the country’s new president.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell said that a salvo of nine rockets hit the highly-fortified zone that hosts government buildings and foreign missions. As a result of the attack, a security officer and two civilians were wounded.
Iraqi lawmakers reconvened in the afternoon after quorum was reached to postpone the session, with at least 269 of the 329 members attending the session.
The session was boycotted by members of parliament affiliated with powerful Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. However, Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid was elected as the country’s new president. 78-year-old Rashid is a British-educated engineer and a former minister.
Rashid replaced fellow Iraqi Kurd Barham Saleh as head of state after the two-round vote in parliament, winning more than 160 votes against 99 for Saleh.
While the presidency is a largely ceremonial position in Iraq, it is vital to the country’s political process because the president invites the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc to form a government.
Upon his election, Rashid nominated 52-year-old Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime minister, to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi. Al-Sudani, a former lawmaker, governor and minister, is backed the influential pro-Iran factions of the Coordination Framework.
The disagreement between the Coordination Framework and al-Sadr will without a doubt pose a real challenge to al-Sudani. Nevertheless, his nomination paves the way for the formation of a new Iraqi government and ending a year of deadlock.
