Iraqi Kurds elect first woman speaker

ARBIL, Iraq: The parliament in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Monday elected its first ever woman speaker as a temporary stop-gap while deep political rifts persist more than four months after legislative elections.

During the body’s first session since the September polls deputies chose Vala Farid from former regional leader Massud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The head of the KDP bloc Haimim Hawrami said Farid was appointed "temporarily" until a deal can be reached with the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party on a permanent appointment.

Lawmakers from the PUK, the party of former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, boycotted Monday’s session. The PUK has asked for more time to hash out thorny issues with its rival including the leadership of the disputed oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Iraqi Kurdistan has faced political instability since a September 2017 referendum for independence backfired after it was rejected by Baghdad and international powers.

Iraqi forces took back oil-rich regions from Kurdish control in the wake of the vote, dealing a hammer blow to the authorities in the semi-autonomous region.The 111-seat parliament legislates the semi-autonomous region, and its functioning is important to regional stability after several years of political upheaval which culminated in an independence referendum in September 2017.

The Kurdistan region was destabilized by the referendum, which damaged relations with the federal capital Baghdad and weakened the KRG’s budget share. Relations have since improved, despite continued disagreements over oil exports. The KDP and the PUK have traditionally brokered a power-sharing agreement for the Kurdistan Regional Government.