ADM delegation meets new Iraqi president

The Word | Dec. 8, 2022

A delegation of representatives from the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), also called Zowaa, met with the newly elected President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, earlier this week, according to a statement from the party. 

ADM Secretary General Yonadam Kanna and a delegation from the party’s political bureau met with the president at his Baghdad office on Monday, according to the Wednesday statement.

ADM members Sargon Lazar and Imad Youkhana joined Kanna at the visit and “congratulated His Excellency on his new position as President and positive wishes,” the statement said, discussing “the political situation in the country, ongoing developments, and the challenges the government faces.”

The statement did not provide further detail.

In the country’s 2021 general elections, ADM representatives unsuccessfully vied for some of the five designated Christian minority seats in the Iraqi parliament. 

The Iraqi parliament elected Rashid as president in October after just over a year of standstill since the country’s early elections in 2021. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) backed Rashid in the race, which was highly contested by the KDP and rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).