Iraq selects new president, prime minister

Iraqi parliament elected Abdul Latif Rashid as president on Thursday. He then appointed Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime minister-designate. The election ended a political deadlock that began in October 2021. Earlier in the day, nine rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses government buildings. At least 10 people were injured. Similar attacks happened the last time the country tried to elect a president.

Who are Rashid and Sudani? In Iraq, Kurdish groups have the power to nominate the president, and Shiite groups can nominate the prime minister. Rashid was an engineer and the minister of water resources from 2003 to 2010. The Shiite bloc in parliament nominated Sudani for prime minister. He was Iraq’s human rights chief and the minister of labor and social affairs.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s column from the WORLD archives about protests that took place in Iraq in 2020—and kept taking place despite government crackdowns.