Iraqi Federal Court: Second presidency candidacy round "unconstitutional"
The Federal Court of Iraq says only the Iraqi parliament has the authority to to begin a second registration cycle of candidates for the presidency.
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Iraq's Federal Court
Iraq's Supreme Federal Court ruled on Tuesday that the Parliament's decision to begin a second registration cycle of candidates for the presidency was "unconstitutional", after lawmakers failed to hold the presidential vote due to lack of quorum on February 7.
"There is no provision in the constitution or law that would give the parliament's presidency the power to re-open registration of presidential candidates. The court ruled that it was unconstitutional," the ruling read, as quoted by Iraq's INA news agency.
The Iraqi Parliament has the authority to make such a decision, but not the presidency of the parliament, the court specified.
On Monday, the Parliament set the date for electing a president and voting on parliamentary committees.
The presidential voting was boycotted by several parliamentary blocs last month, and it was decided to turn the meeting into a consultation, while the election was postponed indefinitely.
On February 22, the published list of registered candidates included 33 people, including current President Barham Salih.
