Iraq parliament heads to presidential runoff after first-round failure

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Parliament failed on Saturday to elect a new president in the first round of voting, sending the process to a second round as no candidate secured the required majority.

Under the constitution, the first round 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.

Four candidates contested the session: Nizar Amedi of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), independent Muthanna Amin, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and independent Abdullah Mohammed al-Ulayawi.

Amedi led with 208 votes, followed by Amin with 17, Hussein with 16, and al-Ulayawi with two votes, out of 252 lawmakers present.

Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi announced a second round, confirming that Amedi and Amin will compete in the runoff after securing the highest vote totals, while the other two candidates were eliminated.

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