Parliament confirms date for presidential election session

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Parliament confirmed Monday that the session to elect the new republic president will take place on Saturday, April 11.

In a statement issued by the parliament’s media office, Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi said the session would proceed as scheduled and that the names of lawmakers absent from the session would be announced.

In late March, Iraq’s Council of Representatives set April 11 as the date for a session to elect a president, in a bid to end a stalemate that has left the country without a functioning government since November’s elections.

The decision was announced following an expanded meeting between the parliament presidency and heads of parliamentary blocs.

Electing a president is a prerequisite for naming a prime minister-designate and forming a government. The process has been paralyzed by a dispute between the KDP and PUK over the presidency — the PUK has nominated Nizar Amedi while the KDP backs Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein — as well as divisions over the prime ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, the Coordination Framework nominated former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in January, a move that drew internal divisions and direct U.S. opposition. President Donald Trump said Washington would not continue support for Iraq if al-Maliki returned to office.