The Iraqi parliament elected Anbar province’s former governor Mohammed al-Halbousi as speaker on Saturday, marking the first step towards establishing the new government four months after national elections. Parliament was due to elect a speaker and two deputies during its first meeting on Sept 3, but failed to do so as lawmakers were still trying to determine which competing bloc had the most seats. Lawmaker Ahmed al-Asadi said 169 MPs voted for Halbousi during the session and 89 voted for former defense minister Khalid al-Obeidi. In his first statement following his election, Halbousi vowed to hold onto the fight against terrorism.