The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Muhammad al-Halbousi, announced the appointment of a session next Thursday to elect a president of the republic, and this announcement comes while the two main Kurdish parties have not yet reached an agreement on a candidate for the position.
Al-Halbousi said - in a statement carried by the official news agency - that the session was set at the request of a number of council members and in implementation of the constitutional provisions.
He added that the agenda for Thursday's session will consist of one paragraph, which is the election of the President of the Republic.
The parliament session is held in the midst of a severe political crisis, as the political forces failed, a year after the legislative elections, to form a new government and elect a new president of the republic.
And Reuters news agency quoted MP Mahma Khalil of the Kurdistan Democratic Party as saying that an agreement has not yet been reached with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan on a candidate for the post of President of the Republic, who instructs the prime minister to choose ministers.
Conversations are going on
Khalil added that talks are still ongoing with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and that more time is needed, saying that a parliamentary session should not be held before an agreement is reached.
The position of head of state is usually held by a figure from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, but the Kurdistan Democratic Party seeks to obtain the position.
It seems that the most likely candidates are the current President of the Republic and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate Barham Salih, and the Minister of Interior in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, Reber Ahmed of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
The coordination framework - which includes Shiite forces described as close to Iran - nominated the former minister and governor, Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, for prime minister, but his candidacy caused bloody confrontations with the Sadrist movement, which had withdrawn its deputies from Parliament.
While the coordination framework seeks to form a new government, taking advantage of the majority it has in Parliament, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, calls for early legislative elections.
The Iraqi judiciary released al-Maliki after transcribing his statements (Reuters)
Listen to the owners
On the other hand, sources said that an Iraqi court heard today the head of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, in the case of audio leaks, which the Sadrist movement considered a threat to its leader.
The sources added that the judge in the third Karkh court released al-Maliki on bail after transcribing his statements.
For his part, a spokesman for Al-Maliki confirmed to Al-Jazeera that Al-Maliki will appear before the judge, considering this a message stating that the law is above everyone, as he put it.
Last June, the Sadrist movement filed a lawsuit against al-Maliki after the spread of audio recordings of him, which the movement considered a threat to security and civil peace in the country.
It is noteworthy that the State of Law coalition is one of the components of the coordination framework, which also includes parties affiliated with the Popular Mobilization.