Iraq’s Supreme Court Rejects Bid To Dissolve Kurdistan Parliament
The case filed by former Kurdistan Parliament member Ali Hama Saleh had been postponed from September 20 and was finally resolved Monday with the court finding no unconstitutionality in the parliament's continued sixth term session
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iraq's Federal Supreme Court rejected on Monday, October 26, 2026, a case filed by Ali Hama Saleh challenging the constitutionality of the continuation of the Kurdistan Parliament's sixth term, resolving a legal challenge that had been postponed from its original hearing date of September 20, 2026.
The case, registered under number 211/Federal/2026, was filed by Ali Hama Saleh, a member of the previous term of the Kurdistan Parliament, against the eldest presiding member of the Kurdistan Parliament. In the case, Saleh had requested that the court issue a ruling declaring the continuation of the Kurdistan Parliament's sixth term unconstitutional and ordering the relevant legal consequences.
In Monday's session, the Federal Supreme Court resolved the case and rejected the request, finding that the continuation of the sixth term is not unconstitutional and dismissing the demand for the associated legal consequences.
The Legal Argument
Saleh had sought to compel the court to force the government and relevant parties to issue a decision ending or reassessing the constitutional legitimacy of the Kurdistan Parliament's continued sixth-term session, taking into account all legal consequences under the Iraqi constitution. The argument rested on the position that the parliament's extended continuation beyond its normal mandate without holding a first session and electing a new presidency board rendered it constitutionally illegitimate.
The Significance
The Federal Supreme Court's rejection of the dissolution case is a significant legal development for the Kurdistan Parliament's current status. It removes a legal threat to the parliament's continued existence in its sixth-term configuration and clears one obstacle from the path toward the parliament eventually convening its first session, electing a presidency board, and forming a new Tenth Cabinet. KDP parliamentary bloc leader Dr. Wala Farid called on Saturday for the immediate convening of the first session without preconditions, warning that any faction failing to attend would bear responsibility before history and the blood of the martyrs.