BAGHDAD, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court on Sunday decided to suspend the nomination of Hoshyar Zebari as candidate for the presidency until a corruption lawsuit against him is resolved.
"The Federal Supreme Court decided to temporarily suspend the procedures (nomination and voting in parliament) to elect Hoshyar Zebari to the post of President of the Republic until the case is resolved," the Court said in a statement published on its official website.
The court decision came after some lawmakers filed a lawsuit against Zebari's presidential candidacy over allegations of his financial and administrative corruption, according to the statement.
On Jan. 31, the Iraqi parliament announced the names of 25 candidates for the presidential election scheduled for Feb. 7, including incumbent President Barham Salih who represents the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, former Foreign Minister and Finance Minister Zebari from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Rizgar Mohammed Amin, former chief judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal that organized the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
According to the Iraqi constitution, lawmakers should elect a new Iraqi president from the candidates by a two-thirds majority of its members, and the president will be limited to serving two four-year terms.
Once elected, the new president will ask the largest parliamentary alliance to name a prime minister-designate to form a government within 30 days.
On Oct. 10, 2021, Iraq held the fifth parliamentary election, where Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Sadrist Movement emerged as the biggest winner with 73 out of the 329 seats. ■
