Speaker of the Australian House of Elected President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

Algiers, Sept 9 (KUNA) -- Australian Speaker of the House Milton Dick was elected President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in elections held on Friday during the 153rd session of the IPU Assembly hosted by Tanzania. In a statement, the IPU said that Dick, the candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group, won the confidence of parliamentarians worldwide, defeating his rivals: Leyla Gafarova, Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, and Senator Rodrigo Rojas Edwards of Chile. The statement clarified that Dick received 182 votes out of a total of 327, representing 56 percent of all votes, thereby securing the presidency in a single round and becoming the 32nd President of the IPU. Dick was elected to the Australian Parliament in 2016 and has served as Speaker of the House of Representatives since 2022. Nearly 700 parliamentarians from more than 130 countries, including 50 speakers of parliament and 45 deputy speakers, participated in the 153rd IPU Assembly held in Arusha, Tanzania. (End) M.R. / M.A.A.