Iraq’s Kurdish assembly delays vote to elect speaker

By Ali Mohamed

ERBIL, Iraq

Northern Iraq’s Kurdish parliament on Tuesday postponed a vote to elect an assembly speaker.

The move was taken upon a request from the three largest blocs in parliament to interim speaker Mohamed until reaching an understanding among political blocs.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent, the interim speaker proposed to postpone the vote, a move backed by most lawmakers.

No date was given for holding the new vote.

According to the final results of the Sept. 30 polls, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won 45 seats in the 111-member parliament in the Kurdish region. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) came second with 21 seats and Gorran movement third with 12 seats.