Members of Iraq’s parliament attend a session at the Council of Representatives building in Baghdad
Iraq parliament postpones presidential vote after Kurdish parties request more time
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s parliament on Tuesday postponed its session to elect the president until further notice, the Media Department of the Council of Representatives said.
In a statement, the department said, “The Council of Representatives has decided to postpone its session.”
Earlier in the day, Speaker of Parliament Haibat al-Halbousi said he had received formal requests from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to delay the session scheduled for Tuesday. The speaker’s media office said al-Halbousi “received requests from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to postpone today’s session, Tuesday, Jan. 27, designated to elect the President of the Republic, to allow more time for understanding and agreement between the two parties.”
964media contacted five lawmakers from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan inside parliament seeking comment on the postponement, but none responded by the time of publication.
In a separate move, the PM Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development parliamentary bloc said it submitted a request urging parliament not to delay the vote. Bloc leader Baha al-Araji said at a news conference, “We submitted a request to the parliament presidency not to postpone today’s session, and we stressed the need to respect constitutional timelines to prevent delaying this entitlement.” He added that “delaying the session will affect the timelines for forming the new government.”
Parliament had been expected to vote after completing constitutional and legal steps related to the nomination process and publishing a final list of candidates. On Friday, lawmakers released a list of 19 presidential candidates following rulings by the Federal Supreme Court on objections to earlier exclusions. The court said it ruled on “twenty-eight objections,” upheld 24 exclusions and ordered the inclusion of four candidates, describing its decisions as final and binding.
The confirmed list includes incumbent President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, former foreign minister Fuad Hussein and senior Patriotic Union of Kurdistan figure Nizar Amedi. The Kurdistan Democratic Party has nominated Fuad Hussein.
Under Article 72 of Iraq’s constitution, parliament must elect a president within 30 days of its first session following the election of the speaker and deputies. Article 76 stipulates that the newly elected president has 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government.
The postponement comes as negotiations over the next government continue. On Saturday, Iraq’s Shiite Coordination Framework announced it nominated State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki for prime minister by “majority vote,” a step that would follow the election of a president once the process resumes.