Iraqi Parliament scheduled to vote in country's next president amid rising tensions between blocs

The Iraqi Parliament failed to elect the president of the republic in February. (Photo: Iraqi Parliament)
The Iraqi Parliament failed to elect the president of the republic in February. (Photo: Iraqi Parliament)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Parliament is scheduled to hold a session today to elect the country's president amid rising tension between the political blocs.

The parliamentary session is supposed to be held at 11 am this morning, said Shivan Jabbari, Kurdistan 24's correspondent in Baghdad.

Two-thirds of lawmakers in the 329-seat parliament must be present to meet the quorum to vote for the next president.

It's presently unclear if the tripartite 'Saving the Homeland' alliance, which consists of the Sadrist Movement, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the Sunni Sovereignty (al-Siyada), can meet that quorum.

Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who won the most votes in the October parliamentary elections, has repeatedly called on independent parliamentarians to attend Saturday's session. On the other hand, his main rival, the Shiite Coordination Framework, has urged these independents to side with them and break the quorum needed for today's session if necessary.

Forty candidates are competing for the Iraqi presidency.

Analysts say that the success of the Saving the Homeland Alliance in securing the votes of independents would swiftly elect the next president and, more importantly, the country's next prime minister shortly after that.

The alliance previously nominated Rebar Ahmed for the presidency and Muqtada al-Sadr's cousin Jaafar al-Sadr for prime minister. Jaafar al-Sadr is currently the Iraqi ambassador to Britain.