SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the country’s president, rejecting a complaint against his nomination for a second term.
The federal court held a meeting on Thursday to decide on a complaint filed by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) lawmakers Vyan Sabri, Rebwar Abdulhadi and Shirwan Jamal against Barham Salih’s nomination for the position of Iraqi president.
The court said Salih‘s candidacy for the position of the Iraqi president “is legal and has no problem”.
In February, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Salih said he would run for a second term in office.
Earlier on Thursday, the federal court rejected a complaint filed by Shia lawmaker Alia Nusayf against the “constitutional or unconstitutional candidacy” of Rebar Ahmed, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) candidate for the presidency.
Ahmed is KDP’s second candidate for the position of Iraq’s president after the federal court ruled last month to reject the nomination of Hoshyar Zebari as a candidate for the presidency.
In 2016, Iraqi parliament sacked Zebari from his post as finance minister over alleged corruptions and misuse of public funds. Zebari denied the accusations.
Zebari, who also served as Iraq’s foreign minister for more than a decade, lost a no-confidence vote by 158 to 77.
Iraqi parliament is scheduled to hold a session on Saturday to vote on the selection of a candidate for the post of Iraqi president. As many as 40 candidates have nominated themselves for the post.
On Wednesday, an alliance between the Sadrist Movement led by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, part of Sunnis and the KDP announced that Ahmed and Mohammed Jaafar al-Sadr were its candidates for the posts of Iraqi president and prime minister.
Ahmed is the current minister of interior in the Kurdistan Region and Sadr is Iraq’s ambassador to the UK.
