New Iraqi President Says He Hopes for Fast Formation of ‘Strong, Efficient, Unified’ Gov’t

Iran’s newly elected president, Abdul Latif Rashid, took office on Monday and said he hoped a new government would be formed quickly. “We keep in mind what the Iraqi people are waiting for from the new government, which we hope will be formed quickly, and be strong, efficient, and unified to meet the people’s aspirations for security, stability, and services,” Rashid said in a speech televised to the nation during a ceremony at al-Salam Palace in Baghdad. Rashid pledged to protect the constitution, sovereignty, unity, and independence of Iraq and said he would spare no effort to try to bring the country’s political forces closer through dialogue. “I will also seek to establish strong and balanced relations between Iraq, neighboring countries, and the international community to promote common interests,” he added. Rashid, a Kurdish politician who was elected by Iraq’s parliament on Oct. 13 and who previously served as the water resources minister in the government of Nouri al-Maliki, is considered the country’s ninth president since 1958. According to the power-sharing agreement in place since the US overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the presidency is reserved for a member of the Kurdish community, while the speaker of parliament must be a Sunni Muslim Arab and the prime minister a Shiite. Rashid has named Mohammad Shia’ al-Sudani as the new prime minister. Al-Sudani, who was nominated by the coalition of Shiite parties known as the Coordination Framework, now has a month to form a government.