Iraq's parlia­ment on Tuesda­y electe­d as presid­ent Kurdis­h politi­cian Barham SalihSULAIMANIYAH: Iraq’s parliament on Tuesday elected as president Kurdish politician Barham Salih, who immediately named Shia Adel Abdul Mahdi prime minister-designate, ending months of deadlock after aninconclusive national election in May. A former vice president, oil minister and finance minister, Abdul Mahdi now has 30 days to form a cabinet and present it to parliament for approval. Abdul Mahdi, 76, is a trained economist who left Iraq in 1969 for exile in France, where he worked for think-tanks and edited magazines in French and Arabic. Abadi issued a statement congratulating Abdul Mahdi and wishing him success. “Now with Abdul Mahdi there are no winners and losers, everyone is happy.”Kurdish tensionsIf the nomination of Abdul Mahdi diffused Shia tensions, Salih’s election fuelled Kurdish ones.

Source: The Express Tribune October 03, 2018 06:45 UTC