Iraq’s newly elected Council of Representatives voted on Monday to elect MP Haibat al-Halbousi as its new speaker after he secured an absolute majority of lawmakers’ votes.

The voting session was attended by 309 deputies out of 329, providing the legal quorum for the first session of the sixth parliamentary term.

Al-Halbousi won 208 votes, defeating his rivals Salem al-Issawi and Amer Abdul Jabbar.

His election paves the way for completing constitutional procedures, most notably electing the president and appointing a new prime minister.