Shortly after a majority of the 329-seat Parliament signed off on the new government, former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said he and his caretaker government have fulfilled their national duty by handing over the reins of the country to al-Sudani.

“We wish him and his government every success,” he said in a statement.

The vote comes two weeks after Parliament elected Abdul Latif Rashid president, who then tapped al-Sudani of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework political alliance to be prime minister, tasking him with submitting a new cabinet to lawmakers for approval.

Thursday’s approval of the new government ends a yearlong stalemate that followed last October’s parliamentary elections, which saw the political bloc of populist Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr win 20 additional seats in Parliament, making it the largest seat holder in the chamber with 73.

Al-Sadr, who has pushed back against Iran’s influence in the country, was prevented from forming a new government by al-Sudani’s Coordination Framework following months of negotiations, resulting in all of his Sadrist bloc members resigning in protest in June.

In his speech Thursday before the Parliament vote, al-Sudani vowed to increase the capabilities of local governments and to crack down on corruption.

“The epidemic of corruption that has affected all aspects of life is more deadly than the corona pandemic and has been the cause of many economic problems, weakening the state’s authority, increasing poverty, unemployment and poor public services,” he said in a speech.

“The proper and fair management of the economy is the foundation of the work of the incoming government.”

The United States on Thursday congratulated al-Sudani on the formation of his new government and said it looked forward to working with him “on the range of our shared interests, from improving services for the Iraqi people to ensuring a safe, stable and sovereign Iraq.”

“The Iraqi people deserve economic opportunity, an end to corruption and improved public services,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “We share the Iraqi government’s interest in preserving stability and security.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq similarly welcomed the new government while pointing out the “many serious challenges” it faces from systematic corruption to tackling the effects of climate change and ending impunity and ensuring perpetrators of crimes are held accountable.

“A strong resolve, across the spectrum, to provide concrete solutions will prove vital,” it said in a statement. “The United Nations reaffirms its steadfast commitment to supporting the government and people of Iraq.”