The Kurdistan Democratic Party revealed the nomination of the Minister of Interior in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Reber Ahmed, for the position of President of the Republic in Iraq, while the Iraqi Council of Representatives announced today, Tuesday, that the number of candidates for the position of President has reached 60.
Reber Ahmed's nomination comes after the party's candidate and former Finance Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, was excluded from the presidential race by a decision of the Federal Court, which ruled that he did not meet the constitutional requirements.
The Democratic Party candidate will compete with the candidate of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the current president, Barham Salih, for the votes of members of the Iraqi parliament to win the position.
Reber Ahmed, the Kurdistan Democratic Party's candidate for the presidency of Iraq (communication sites)
For its part, the Iraqi Council of Representatives (Parliament) announced today, Tuesday, that the number of candidates for the post of President of the Republic reached 60, after reopening the nomination door by the Presidency for the second time about a week ago.
The Parliament’s rapporteur, Baida Khader, said in a statement that the Presidency of the Parliament has not yet set a date for holding the presidential election session after failing to hold the first session more than a week ago because of its boycott by most of the parliamentary blocs.
Khader said that the number of candidates reached 24 after the exclusion of Zebari by the Federal Court, and after re-opening the door for nomination a second time, their number reached 60 candidates.
It is expected that the Federal Court will consider a case submitted by one of the independent representatives challenging the constitutionality of the procedure of the Presidency of Parliament to reopen the nomination for the post of President.
And last Sunday, the Federal Supreme Court decided that the current President of the Republic, Barham Salih, would continue his duties until a new president was elected.
And ruled the unconstitutionality of Zebari's nomination for the post.
At a press conference in Baghdad, Zebari described the Federal Court's decision to cancel his candidacy as a premeditated, politicized, unjust and unjust decision, as he put it.
According to the political custom that has been followed since the first parliamentary elections held in the country in 2005, the position of the President of the Republic belongs to the Kurdish component, the presidency of parliament is for the Sunnis, and the leadership of the government belongs to the Shiites.
The presidency of the republic is often owned by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, as the late Jalal Talabani assumed it over two terms, then Fuad Masum, and the current president, Barham Salih.