Baghdad, Iraq – Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court issued a decisive ruling Wednesday regarding appeals filed by several individuals who had been excluded from running for president. The court reinstated four candidates to the official list of contenders, while upholding the exclusion of the remaining appellants. In its ruling, the court stated that it had reviewed appeals submitted by 28 citizens who objected to their exclusion from the list previously announced by the Speaker of Parliament. The court concluded by upholding the exclusion of 24 candidates, while ruling that the exclusion of four others was invalid.
The court ordered the House of Representatives to immediately include the names of the four candidates—Khaled Sadiq Aziz Mohammed, Azad Majeed Hassan, Rafe Abdullah Hamid Mousa, and Salem Hawas Ali—on the final list of those eligible to compete for the position. This decision comes within the framework of the Federal Court’s commitment to applying the constitutional and legal standards governing the nomination process. The court is also the competent authority for adjudicating constitutional electoral disputes.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives opened nominations for the presidency on December 31, 2025, and continued accepting applications until January 5, 2026. This was in accordance with constitutional requirements stipulating that a candidate must be an Iraqi citizen by birth, born to Iraqi parents, of sound mind, at least forty years old, of good character, possess political experience, and have no criminal record involving moral turpitude. This legal process comes at a time when the presidency has traditionally been held by a Kurdish citizen since 2003. However, opening nominations to all eligible Iraqis has broadened the scope of competition, pending political consensus within the Council of Representatives. With this decision, the process of finalizing the list of candidates is nearing completion. This paves the way for the parliamentary session dedicated to electing the president, the date of which has not yet been officially announced.
