Baghdad: The Council of Representatives of Iraq held a session on Saturday to elect a new President of the Republic. Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi opened the session after the quorum was achieved with the attendance of 223 MPs.
According to Qatar News Agency, in a speech during the session, Al Halbousi mentioned that initially, 18 candidates had been nominated for the presidency. However, two candidates, Asso Faraidoon Ali and the incumbent President Abdul Latif Rashid, withdrew their candidacies, reducing the number of candidates to 16.
President Abdul Latif Rashid had previously announced his decision to withdraw from seeking a second term. In his statement, Rashid expressed that he did not wish for his candidacy to contribute to further political polarization or weaken national unity.
The session comes as Iraq has exceeded its constitutional deadline by approximately 70 days, and it has been 148 days without the formation of a new government since the parliamentary elections of November 2025.