ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s incoming parliament is scheduled to hold its first session on December 29, according to a decree issued Tuesday by the country’s president. The session will mark the first convening of the new legislature since Iraq held its key parliamentary elections in mid-November.
In a statement, the Iraqi presidency said President Abdul Latif Rashid issued a decree stipulating that “the elected Council of Representatives, in its sixth term, shall convene on Monday, December 29.”
The decree “takes effect from the date of its issuance and publication in the Official Gazette of Iraq (al-Waqa’i al-Iraqiya),” the statement added,
Iraq held early legislative elections on November 9, followed by general voting on November 11. Final results were announced in mid-November.
The country’s top judicial authority, the Federal Supreme Court, on Sunday ratified the final results of the vote, saying the elections “met all constitutional and legal requirements.”
The ratification followed last week’s announcement by the Electoral Judicial Panel - an affiliate of Iraq’s highest administrative authority overseeing the judiciary, the Supreme Judicial Council - that it had concluded its review of “all appeals submitted regarding the election results.”
The development comes as political negotiations over key positions in the next cabinet gain momentum.
Under Iraq’s post-2003 constitution, the new parliament must convene with a two-thirds quorum in a session led by the eldest legislator, who serves as acting speaker. Parliament then elects a speaker, followed by a president through a secret ballot - requiring a two-thirds majority in the first round or a simple majority in a runoff.
The largest parliamentary bloc then nominates a prime minister-designate, who is tasked by the new president with forming the next government.
In a statement, the Iraqi presidency said President Abdul Latif Rashid issued a decree stipulating that “the elected Council of Representatives, in its sixth term, shall convene on Monday, December 29.”
The decree “takes effect from the date of its issuance and publication in the Official Gazette of Iraq (al-Waqa’i al-Iraqiya),” the statement added,
Iraq held early legislative elections on November 9, followed by general voting on November 11. Final results were announced in mid-November.
The country’s top judicial authority, the Federal Supreme Court, on Sunday ratified the final results of the vote, saying the elections “met all constitutional and legal requirements.”
The ratification followed last week’s announcement by the Electoral Judicial Panel - an affiliate of Iraq’s highest administrative authority overseeing the judiciary, the Supreme Judicial Council - that it had concluded its review of “all appeals submitted regarding the election results.”
The development comes as political negotiations over key positions in the next cabinet gain momentum.
Under Iraq’s post-2003 constitution, the new parliament must convene with a two-thirds quorum in a session led by the eldest legislator, who serves as acting speaker. Parliament then elects a speaker, followed by a president through a secret ballot - requiring a two-thirds majority in the first round or a simple majority in a runoff.
The largest parliamentary bloc then nominates a prime minister-designate, who is tasked by the new president with forming the next government.
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