Iraqi parliament reopens door for candidacy to run for president

BAGHDAD – The Iraqi Council of Representatives (Parliament) on Tuesday reopened the nomination for the post of president of the country for three days, after the parliament failed on Monday to hold its second session to elect a new president.

The parliament decided to open the door for candidacy for the post starting from Wednesday and will continue for three days, the Iraqi parliament said in a statement, citing that the decision came due to the expiration of the constitutional period of 30 days (from the first session on Jan. 9) to elect a new president.

The Iraqi parliament had set February 7 as a date for holding its second session to elect a new president of the country from among 25 candidates, but the parliament failed to hold the session due to a lack of quorum and the political disputes among parliamentary political blocs.

On Jan. 31, the Iraqi parliament announced the names of 25 candidates for the presidential election, including incumbent President Barham Salih who represents the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, former Foreign Minister and Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Rizgar Mohammed Amin, former chief judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal that organized the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

However, the Iraqi federal court on Sunday decided to suspend the nomination of Zebari as a candidate for the presidency until a corruption lawsuit against him would be resolved. On Jan. 9, the Iraqi parliament held the first session, in which the lawmakers elected the speaker of the parliament and his two deputies. According to the Iraqi constitution, lawmakers should elect a new Iraqi president from the candidates by a two-thirds majority of its members.

Once elected, the new president will ask the largest parliamentary alliance to name a prime minister-designate to form a government within 30 days. On Oct. 10, 2021, Iraq held the fifth parliamentary election, where Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Sadrist Movement emerged as the biggest winner with 73 out of the 329 seats.