Iraqi lawmakers elected an Iran-backed Sunni Arab as speaker of parliament.

New government begins formation four months after elections

BAGHDAD — Amid escalating political wrangling, Iraqi lawmakers elected an Iran-backed Sunni Arab as speaker of parliament on Saturday, the first step in forming a new government four months after national elections.

The 37-year-old speaker was supported by the pro-Iran bloc inside parliament, the Building coalition, which is mainly made up of Iranbacked Shiite militiamen — underscoring the growing Iranian influence in the process of forming the country’s new government.

During a secret ballot, 169 lawmakers voted for Mohammed al-Halbousi, the former governor of Anbar, and 89 others voted for the former defense minister, Khalid al-Obeidi, lawmaker Ahmed al-Asadi said.

“This is a victory for the Building coalition,” prominent Sunni politician Mahmoud al-Mashhadani told The Associated Press after the session. “No one can ignore the Iranian influence in Iraq, it’s stronger than the U.S.’s (influence),” al-Mashhadani added.

Early this month, the newly elected parliament held its first session, but two Shiite-led blocs came into conflict, each claiming to be the largest bloc that should be tasked to form the new government. Namely, they are the Building coalition and the pro-U.S. Reform and Building coalition led by outgoing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc.

Also Saturday, legislators elected Hassan Karim as the first deputy parliament speaker, according to legislator Dhafer al-Aani. Karim is a member of al-Sadr’s bloc.

The parliament has yet to vote for the second deputy parliament speaker, a Kurd. Three members of parliament are running for the seat.

Iran was the among the first countries to congratulate al-Halbousi. Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi said in a statement that Tehran “has always supported the democracy, territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Iraq and supports decisions made by the people’s representatives.”

Qasemi said in the remarks carried by state news agency IRNA that he hoped al-Halbousi’s election will be followed by electing a president and prime minister, paving the way to establish a new government in Iraq.