The Iraqi parliament today elected Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as the country’s new president, following parliamentary elections held in November last year. Amedi is a former environment minister and has headed the political office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Baghdad since 2024.
Iraq is now due to choose a prime minister, a closely watched and sensitive pick. Under the country’s sectarian power-sharing system, the prime minister is required to be a Shi’ite Muslim, the parliamentary speaker a Sunni Muslim, and the president a Kurd.