Iraq’s parliament on Thursday elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as president, ending a year of deadlock after a national election in October last year.

“I consider myself abided to call for political dialogue in which nobody will be asked to make a compromise on their goals and demands,” President Rashid was quoted by Esta Media Network as saying.

The President underscored that he has seen dozens of Presidents, ministers, and parties that have passed but then “vanished”. “Therefore the positions have no value, what will ultimately remain is good and constructive as well as just work in governing,” he said.

“For that reason I demand an open dialogue, aiming at stopping further tensions,” Rashid stressed.

Iraq’s presidency, traditionally occupied by a Kurd, is a largely ceremonial position, but the vote for Rashid was a key step toward forming a new government, which politicians have failed to do since the election.

Rashid, 78, was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010. The British-educated engineer.

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