Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani congratulated new parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.
“We are confident that his election represents a positive step towards a new phase of cooperation,” he said in a post on X.
He called for a stronger and more effective role for the parliament with respect to passing legislation and supporting the stability of Iraq’s future.
Mashhadani was elected parliament speaker on Thursday, filling a post that has been vacant for a year.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said in a post on X that he spoke with Mashhadani to wish him success and both “agreed to working on and implementing the constitution” while “resolving the issues between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government.”
Baghdad and Erbil have been at loggerheads over several issues, including the Kurdistan Region’s share in the federal budget, salaries of civil servants, and the export of Kurdish oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) congratulated the new parliament speaker on Thursday.
“We are confident that you will lead the parliament to the fullest extent because we are certain that your presence will activate the important role of the parliament to complete the entitlements that we agreed upon in the State Administration Coalition when we formed this government,” he said in a post on X.
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani extended his best wishes to Mashhadani and emphasized “the need to resolve outstanding issues and pass laws that are in the interest of the Iraqi people and will lead to the solution of problems in the Iraqi political process,” according to a statement from his office.
There are several contentious bills currently on the parliament agenda, including an amendment to the Personal Status Law that could legalize child marriage, a general amnesty law that would change the definition of affiliation with terror groups, and a bill to return land confiscated under the Baath regime to the original Kurdish and Turkmen owners.
