Parliament speaker: 44 candidates apply to run for Iraq’s presidency

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi says more than 40 candidates, including Kurds, Arabs, and Christians, have applied to run for the presidency, with most having completed registration.

“The number of candidates for the position of president has reached 44,” Halbousi said in statements carried by the official news agency INA.

He added that the nomination window will close later on Monday.

Incumbent President Abdul Latif Rashid has reportedly started the registration process, but has yet to complete his application.

Rashid, a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), has stated that he is participating as an independent candidate and not on behalf of the political party.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest Kurdish bloc in the Iraqi parliament, has officially nominated Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein for the presidency.

The PUK announced on Monday the nomination of Nizar Amedi for the post of president.

Iraq held parliamentary elections on November 11, the sixth vote since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country.

Halbousi elected speaker as Iraq moves towards government formation

Iraqi lawmakers have elected Haibat Al-Halbousi as speaker of the country’s parliament at its first session following November’s national election.

Last week, Iraq’s ‍newly ‍elected parliament chose Haybat al-Halbousi as its speaker.

Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, received 208 votes, in a clear victory over two rival contenders with 66 and nine votes, respectively.

According to Iraq's traditional muhasasa system, established with the first government following the post-2003 constitution, the parliament is required to elect a speaker – a Sunni candidate who has garnered consensus – along with two deputies in its inaugural session.

Subsequent to this is the election for the presidency, featuring a Kurdish candidate, in accordance with muhasasa. The president subsequently puts forward the nominee from the largest Shia bloc – the Shia Coordination Framework (SCF) – to be appointed as prime minister.

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