Iraq parliament elects Barham Salih as country's new president
[ad_1] Image copyright AFP Image caption Barham Salih has previously served as Iraqi Kurdish PM and Iraqi deputy prime minister Iraq's parliament has elected the moderate Kurdish politician Barham Salih as president. Mr Salih, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), beat his main rival Fuad Hussein, of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP), by 219 votes to 22, AFP news agency reported. The post of president in Iraq is largely ceremonial. According to a power-sharing deal, top government roles are divided between Iraq's predominant ethnic groups. Since 2003 the president has always been a Kurd, while the prime minister is a Shia Muslim and the parliamentary speaker is drawn from the Sunni Arab bloc. "I promise to safeguard Iraq's unity and safety," Mr Salih, 58, said during his ...