Iraq's parliament elected Nizar Amidi as the country's new president Saturday when the Kurdish Politician won a second-round parliamentary ballot.
Amidi won 227 of 249 votes in the ballot, becoming the country’s sixth head of state since 2003.
Iraqi parliament elected Amidi, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate, as the country's new president Saturday, succeeding former President Abdul Latif Rashid.
Amidi's victory came after he secured a majority of votes in the second round of parliamentary voting, following the failure to reach a two-thirds majority in the first round, according to the Türkiye-based Anadolu Agency (AA).
Amidi won the runoff election with 227 votes, compared to 15 votes for his opponent, Muthanna Amin, with seven invalid ballots.
Following the official announcement of the results, he was invited to take the constitutional oath in parliament.
An AA correspondent reported that 252 out of 329 members of the parliament participated in the first round.
Under the constitution, the first round of voting requires a two-thirds majority of parliament (220 out of 329 lawmakers). If no candidate secures the required votes, the election moves to a second round requiring half-plus-one, or 165 votes.
However, the second round of voting is held between the two candidates with the most votes, with a simple majority required to win the presidency.
The election session was held after the Iraqi parliament postponed it for the second time in early February, following disagreements between the two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the PUK, over who would hold the presidency.
By convention, a Shiite holds the powerful post of prime minister, the parliament speaker is a Sunni and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.
After Iraq's November general election, the presidential election had been set for January but was postponed twice over political disagreements.
The Iraqi parliament held its first session on Dec. 29.
Article 76, paragraph (A), stipulates that "the President, the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc, should form the Council of Ministers within 15 days of the date of the President's election."
