Iraqi Parliament Begins Vote to Elect New President Amid 16 Candidates
The Iraqi Parliament session to elect the country’s president was officially convened with the presence of two-thirds of its members, and the voting process among 16 candidates has begun. The Parliament media office announced that with the legal quorum completed, the official phase of selecting the president has entered the agenda.
At the start of the session, the names of 16 candidates for the public vote were read aloud. Previously, the number of candidates had been announced as 18, but with the withdrawal of Asu Faridun Ali and Abdul Latif Muhammad Jamal, the number decreased to 16.
According to Article 70 of the Iraqi Constitution, the election of the president is a parliamentary process. After the formation of the parliamentary presidency board, the nomination process for this position is opened, and any eligible citizen can nominate themselves.
In the first round of voting, each candidate must secure at least two-thirds of the total votes of the parliament members, meaning 220 out of 329 votes, to be elected president. If no candidate reaches this threshold, the voting proceeds to a second round.
In the second round, the competition is limited to the two candidates who received the highest votes in the first round, and the individual who obtains the majority of votes will be elected president. The elected president must take an oath before the parliament and is obligated to appoint the winning faction’s nominee to form the government within a maximum of 15 days.
