Iraq's parliament elected Sunni Muslim lawmaker Haibat al-Halbousi as speaker at its opening session on Monday following November's national election, launching a process to form a new government that often takes months.
The entrance of Iraq's parliament building ahead of the first session of the newly elected parliament, in Baghdad, Iraq December 29, 2025. Reuters/Ahmed Saad
Iraq's parliament elected Sunni Muslim lawmaker Haibat al-Halbousi as speaker at its opening session on Monday following November's national election, launching a process to form a new government that often takes months.
A parliamentary statement said Halbousi secured 208 out of a total of 283 votes. The speaker plays a key role in maintaining legislative order, mediating disputes and building consensus in Iraq's sectarian-oriented and often fragmented political system.
Under the Iraqi constitution, parliament must elect a speaker and two deputies at its opening session, then choose a new president within 30 days. The president will in turn task the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's bloc won the most seats in the election. The next government will need to navigate the delicate balance between U.S. and Iranian influence, with dozens of Iran-aligned militia groups complicating the picture.
Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed
Negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Islamabad later this week, five sources said on Tuesday, days after the highest-level talks between the two countries in decades ended without a breakthrough.
The deadline passed on Monday for the start of a U.S. military blockade of ships leaving Iran's ports, and Tehran threatened to retaliate against ports of its Gulf neighbours after weekend talks on ending the war broke down.
Israeli troops launched an attack on Monday to seize a key town in south Lebanon from Hezbollah fighters holed up there, pressing the war on the Iran-backed group on the eve of rare talks between Israeli and Lebanese government envoys.
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