After the first parliamentary session and the election of the parliamentary leadership, the Iraqi Council of Representatives must elect a new President within 30 days. This requires a two-thirds majority (220 votes out of 329 seats), according to Article 72 of the constitution.
If no candidate receives the required two-thirds majority in the first round, then according to Article 70 of the constitution, a second round is held, in which the candidate with the highest number of votes wins the presidency.
In 2022, a significant development occurred regarding the presidential election process. On February 3, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that the quorum for the parliamentary session to elect the President must also be two-thirds (220 members present out of 329). This meant that the session could not proceed unless at least 220 members were present.
This decision created political complications for the tripartite alliance (Sadr, Barzani, and Halbousi), as they were unable to reach the required quorum without other parties. Ultimately, this contributed to Muqtada al-Sadr’s withdrawal from the political process and the collapse of the alliance.
According to the political tradition established in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the position of President is allocated to the Kurds. So far, this position has been held by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). However, currently, the two main Kurdish parties—the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)—are in disagreement, and no agreement has yet been reached between them regarding the distribution of positions between Erbil and Baghdad. Therefore, it remains unclear who will assume the presidency this time.
