On Tuesday, the Independent High Electoral Commission officially designated the eldest member of parliament to preside over the inaugural session of the new Iraqi Council of Representatives.

Commission spokesperson Jumana Al-Ghalai stated that “the eldest MP who will lead the first parliamentary session is Amer Hussein Jassim Ali Al-Fayez, from the Tasmim Alliance representing Basra Province, born on October 25, 1948.”

Earlier in the day, President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid set December 29 as the date for the first session of the new Iraqi parliament.