Iraq Judiciary Demands Respect for Leadership Deadlines

(MENAFN) Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council has reaffirmed the importance of strictly following constitutional deadlines for naming the country’s next president and prime minister, cautioning that delays or external involvement could threaten political balance and democratic order.

In a statement released after its first meeting of 2026, led by Judge Faiq Zaidan in his capacity as head of the Federal Supreme Court, the council highlighted the need to complete all procedures related to forming the executive leadership within the constitutionally mandated time limits.

The judiciary urged political factions and parliamentary blocs to comply with the constitutional timetable, warning that failure to do so could disrupt political stability and hinder the proper functioning of Iraq’s democratic institutions. It also stressed the importance of shielding domestic political processes from any form of outside influence.

The statement followed a recent decision by parliament to delay a session intended to elect a new president. The postponement came after requests from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, both of which asked for more time to agree on a consensus candidate. No new date for the session has yet been announced.

Under Iraq’s constitutional framework, once a president is elected, the individual must designate the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc to form a government within a 15-day period.

Iraq’s political system is based on a power-sharing arrangement that assigns the presidency to a Kurdish figure, the post of prime minister to a Shiite, and the parliamentary speakership to a Sunni. In line with this arrangement, lawmakers elected Sunni politician Mohammed al-Halbousi as speaker of parliament on Dec. 29.

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