SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi Council of Representatives reopened door for presidential candidates, after it failed to select a new president.
The office of parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi said on Tuesday the “reopening of registration for candidates for the post of president of the republic from Wednesday, and for a period of three days”.
No date has been announced for a new voting session in parliament.
Legal experts believe the extension of the period was a violation of the terms of the Iraqi Constitution.
Expert Ali al-Tamimi denounced the announcement as “unconstitutional”, saying that the legal deadline set to elect a president “cannot be broken, except by a decision from the Federal Court or an amendment of the law”, according to AFP.
On Monday, the Iraqi parliament delayed the selection of a new president after major parliamentary blocs boycotted the session following the suspension of Hoshyar Zebari from presidential race.
Zebari’s suspension came after a lawsuit filed by two lawmakers accused him of years-long corruption.
Iraq’s political timeline for electing a head of state and forming a government, in the wake of last year’s general verdict is expected within days.
Only 58 lawmakers attended Monday’s session – well below the quorum of two thirds of the 329-seat chamber.
The Sadrist Movement led by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Iran-backed Coordination Framework, Sunni blocs and the two major Kurdish parties all boycotted ahead of the session.
No single party holds an outright majority, so the next leader will be voted in by whichever coalition can negotiate allies to become the biggest bloc — which then elects Iraq’s president, who then appoints a prime minister.
In previous parliaments, parties from Iraq’s Shia majority have struck compromise deals to work together and form a government, with an unofficial system whereby the prime minister is Shia, the president is a Kurd and the speaker of parliament is Sunni.
On Tuesday night, Sadr met with Iranian commander of Quds Force Brigadier General Esmail Qaani in Najaf.
Qaani has been in Iraq to convince Iran-backed parties to reach an agreement over the formation of a new Iraqi government.
In a tweet, Sadr reiterated his call for a “national majority government” which is “neither eastern nor western”, following the meeting with Qaani.
Iraq normally enters months of political deadlock after each general election as the political elite jockey for spots in the new government. Iraqis are increasingly disillusioned with the political process, accusing almost all their politicians of corruption.
