Dr. Rewas Faiq's speech on her election as Speaker of Kurdistan Parliament

In the Name of God, the most gracious the most merciful,

Ladies and gentlemen, families of martyrs, people of Kurdistan,

I have taken on a great new responsibility. I would like to thank you, all the parliamentary blocks and the people of Kurdistan for the trust that you have placed in me. Let me assure you that, together with my colleagues on Parliament’s Presidency board, we will make every effort to support peaceful coexistence and to work in the spirit of partnership to overcome the political, economic and financial crises that the Kurdistan Region faced over the past years and that caused tensions between political blocs and parties.

I also thank Dr. Vala Farid, the former Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, and the Presidency Board for running Parliament over the past months. The agreement between the political parties, the formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government cabinet and the restoration of the Kurdistan Region Presidency, were essential steps towards entering a new era of collaboration between the parliamentary lists and political parties in the region, and essential to addressing all problems and crises and responding to the demands of the people of Kurdistan.

We the Presidency of the Kurdistan Parliament are the representatives of all the people and are the umbrella for all the parliamentary blocs and political parties, to ensure that Parliament is a key decision-making centre for the people of Kurdistan, performs its legislative and monitoring duties, evaluates the implementation of laws and approves the annual budget of the Region.

At this current stage, we need partnership and cooperation between the Presidency of the Kurdistan Parliament, the Presidency of Kurdistan Region, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Judicial Council to ensure implementation of the law, a successful legislative process, judicial independence, the achievement of social justice and transparency in fighting corruption.

Today, ten months after the Kurdistan Region general election, the people of Kurdistan expect Parliament, the Kurdistan Region Presidency and the Government to take effective steps to address many problems, such as saving the salaries of employees, improving services in cities, districts and sub-districts in the Kurdistan Region, and providing more public and private sector job opportunities for the young and university graduates.

Finally, once again I would like to thank you for placing your trust in me to serve in this position. After the end of the legislative recess and from the start of the next legislative session, we will work together with all the political parties to serve our people and to meet the aspirations of all the communities in Kurdistan, including the families of martyrs and Anfal victims.

11th July 2019