BAGHDAD — The
Iraqi parliament on Saturday reopened
registration for candidates to run for president, a contest already behind
schedule following last October's general election.
اضافة اعلان
MPs, whose job it is to elect the president, a largely
ceremonial role reserved for a Kurd, set a three-day period for candidates to
register, an AFP correspondent inside parliament said, by a vote of 203 in favor
from 265 who attended a special session.
Lack of a quorum and legal issues have held up the contest,
adding to war-scarred Iraq's political uncertainty because the president has to
name a prime minister from the largest bloc in parliament.
On February 13, Iraq's Supreme Court ruled out a bid by
frontrunner and veteran politician Hoshyar Zebari to run for president after a
complaint filed against him over years-old corruption charges.
His exclusion, from a field of some 25 candidates after an
initial registration, appeared to clear the way for his main challenger,
incumbent President Barham Saleh, expected to run for a second term.
Iraqi politics have been in turmoil since the October 2021
general elections, which were marred by a record-low turnout, post-election
threats and violence, and a delay of several months until final results were confirmed.
Intense negotiations among political groups have since
failed to form a majority parliamentary coalition to name a new prime minister
to succeed
Mustafa Al-Kadhemi.
The largest political bloc led by firebrand Shiite cleric
Moqtada Sadr, had backed Zebari for the presidency.
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