MP Elected to Top IPU Post

Lawmaker Kazem Jalali has been elected as the deputy chairman of the executive committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Jalali was already a member of the executive committee, to which he was elected in 2015, ICANA reported on Sunday.

The lawmaker has been elected for a four-year term, if he manages to win a parliamentary seat in Iran’s 2020 Majlis elections. Otherwise, Jalali will hold the post until October 2019. In accordance with the union’s statutes, this 17-member body oversees the administration of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and advises its governing council. A seven-member Iranian parliamentary delegation had arrived in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 1 to attend the 136th IPU assembly meeting, which was held from April 1 to 5. Established in 1889, the 173-member IPU is the international organization of world parliaments. The union is the focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and cooperation for the establishment of democracy across the globe. The IPU assembly is the principal statutory body that expresses the union’s views on political issues. Delegations attending IPU assemblies customarily include members of parliament from all parties. The assembly convenes biannually in spring and autumn.