Iraqi Parliament reopens the door for nominating presidential candidates

Al-Salam Palace, the residence of Iraq's president. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Al-Salam Palace, the residence of Iraq's president. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Parliament on Tuesday opened the door again for political parties to nominate new candidates for the Iraqi presidency.

The decision, which came in a letter signed by the Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Al-Halbousi, has set three days (Wednesday through Friday) as a period during which the political parties can nominate new candidates for the presidency.

“According to Article 72/2/B, the constitutional period was over without electing a president,” read Al-Halbousi’s letter. “The parliament’s decision was issued depending on the presidential election law, article number 8 of 2012.” 

The Iraqi Parliament was supposed to convene on Monday to elect a new president but couldn’t do so because the quorum wasn’t reached.

Read More: Iraqi parliament to convene following boycott from major blocs

Major Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni alliances and political parties preannounced their boycott of that parliamentary session.

This boycott of the political parties came after the Iraqi Federal Court’s decision to temporarily suspend the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Hoshyar Zebari’s candidacy for the presidency. 

The constitutional deadline for electing a new president was Feb. 8. Since that deadline has been missed, the Parliament now has to reopen the door for political parties to resubmit the names of their candidates.

Read More: Parliament approves 25 candidates for Iraqi presidency