Wikipedia

2026 Iraqi presidential election

An indirect election was held for the president of Iraq on 11 April 2026 by the Council of Representatives. Nizar Amidi of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was elected in the second round of voting with 227 votes, defeating Muthanna Amin of the Kurdistan Islamic Union with 15 votes. Incumbent president Abdul Latif Rashid was eligible for another term but chose not to run. Amidi led in the first round with 208 votes, but was short of the two-thirds majority required by the constitution.

2026 Iraqi presidential election
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11 April 2026 (2026-04-11)
2030 →
 
Nominee Nizar Amidi Muthanna Amin
Party PUK KIU
Indirect vote 227 15
Percentage 90.08% 5.95%
President before election

Abdul Latif Rashid
PUK

 Elected president

Nizar Amidi
PUK

Although the constitution of Iraq requires a presidential election to be held within thirty days of a new parliament being elected, it was delayed by five months after the November 2025 parliamentary election. This was due to disagreement within the largest electoral bloc, the Coordination Framework, on the selection of a prime minister-designate, who would be appointed by the president; and disagreement between the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) over the presidential candidate. Sessions of parliament in December 2025 and February 2026 failed to hold a presidential vote, delaying it until April 2026.

The PUK traditionally chose the presidential candidate by informal agreement, but Nizar Amidi was challenged by Fuad Hussein of the KDP, who was eliminated in the first round. The KDP said after the election that it does not recognize the outcome.

Background

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According to the constitution of Iraq, after the speaker is chosen, the parliament of Iraq is required to elect the president of Iraq with a two-thirds majority[1] (somewhere around 220 votes)[2] within 30 days after the first parliamentary session. If the parliament is unable to properly choose a president in the first round, then the two candidates that won the most votes will compete in a second round. If one of the candidates wins more votes then the other, then they become president.[2]

After the president is chosen, they are mandated to appoint the leader of the political bloc with the most seats as prime minister. The prime minister then forms a new cabinet and has the nominees be approved by parliament through a vote of confidence within either 15[1][3] or 30 days.[4][5][1] This election was organized after parliamentary sessions regarding the leadership were completed between 29–30 December 2025.[4]

The role of the president is informally reserved for a person of Kurdish ethnicity as part of a confessional quota, along with a Sunni Muslim being the speaker of Parliament, and a Shia Muslim as prime minister. This unofficial quota, known as the Muhasasa system, was established after the United States invasion of Iraq.[4][5]

An agreement between the PUK and KDP was made in which a nominee of the former party will hold the role of president while the latter will govern the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. The agreement has been criticised for encouraging corruption and sectarian splits.[5] The KDP has also reportedly planned to run for president against the PUK's candidate.[6]

Candidates

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Prominent candidates included former minister of foreign affairs,[a] Fuad Hussein,[3] and former governor of Erbil, Nawzad Hadi[7] of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and former minister of environment, Nizar Amedi and incumbent president, Abdul Latif Rashid[b] of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).[4][5][7][9] Secretary-general of the Iraqi parliament, Al-Gargari stated that finalists will be later revealed after process.[4] Rashid later withdrew before the first round of voting.[10]

Arabic sources have mentioned of 15 candidates being approved by parliament with Fuad Hussein and Nizar Amedi being qualified.[9][11] Other candidates includes Shwan Hawiz Fariq Nam, Ahmed Abdullah Tawfiq Ahmed, Hussein Taha Hassan Mohammed Sinjari, Najm al-Din Abdul Karim Hama Karim Nasrallah, Asu Faridun Ali, Saman Ali Ismail Shali, Sabah Saleh Saeed, Abdullah Mohammed Ali Zahir, Iqbal Abdullah Amin Halawi, Nizar Mohammed Saeed Mohammed Kanji, Sardar Abdullah Mahmoud Timz, Muthanna Amin Nader, and Nawzad Hadi Mawloud.[9][12]

44[c] to 81[d] people originally registered themselves to be potential candidates before parliament closed down the nomination on 6 January. Regular Iraqi civilians have also applied to be presidential candidates as opposition against the ethno-sectarian system, with critics accusing the system of increasing inefficiency, corruption, and deepening sectarianism.[5][15]

Preparations

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The Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia Muslim parties, declared itself to be the largest parliamentary bloc after the 2025 Iraqi parliamentary election held on 11 November 2025. Incumbent prime minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani of the Coordination Framework endorsed former leader Nouri al-Maliki to become the new prime minister. Al-Maliki previously served as prime minister between 2006 and 2014, stepping down during the Islamic State invasion of Iraq. U.S. President Donald Trump called the decision to nominate al-Maliki "a very bad choice" due to previous allegations of him deepening sectarianism in Iraq, and his perceived closeness to Iran and its allies in Iraq. The U.S. is influential in Iraq, especially because the oil revenue of the Iraqi government is held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.[16][17]

The election of a president by the Council of Representatives was the next step in the government formation process. Despite the constitutional requirement of holding a vote within thirty days,[17] the date has been delayed mainly at the request of the KDP and PUK that needed more time to establish their candidates[16] and that said candidates were not approved by Shia and Sunni parliamentary groups yet.[18] Previously, speaker Haibat al-Halbousi and KDP politician Shakhawan Abdullah had announced that the election set to be held on 27 January[19][20][21] 28 January,[19][3][9][12][8] a month after the 29 December parliamentary session following the 2025 parliamentary elections.[9] The Iraqi parliament has previously been unable to be faithful towards dates.[22] Because of the disagreement between the Kurdish parties, the Coordination Framework told its members on 4 February that they are free to vote for any candidate instead of a pre-selected candidate.[17]

Furthermore, there was disagreement within Coordination Framework over the selection of al-Maliki, and the KDP and al-Maliki's State of Law Coalition opposed proceeding with a presidential vote without an agreement on a prime minister-designate. After the February session of parliament, the next session was scheduled to convene on 11 April.[23] The day before the vote, several factions announced a boycott (including the KDP, the State of Law Coalition, and the Azem Alliance), while others called for it to go ahead, including the PUK, the State Forces Alliance, the Takadum Party, the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, the Sadiqoun Bloc, and the Turkmen Front.[24] On 11 April two rounds of voting were held, because PUK candidate Nizar Amidi failed to win a two-thirds majority in the first round.[25]

Results

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Results[25][26][27][28]
Canditates Parties First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Nizar Amidi PUK 208 82.54 227 90.08
Muthanna Amin KIU 17 6.75 15 5.95
Fuad Hussein KDP 16 6.35 Eliminated
Abdullah Al-Ulawi Independent 2 0.79
Required majority[e] 220 votes 50% of votes
Valid votes 243 96.43 242 96.03
Blank and invalid votes 9 3.57 10 3.97
Total 252 100 252 100
Abstention 33 23.40 33 23.40
Registered voters / turnout 329 76.60 329 76.60

Reactions

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The Kurdistan Democratic Party refused to recognize the outcome of the election or work with the new president, claiming that the vote violated parliamentary regulations.[29]

Amidi was congratulated on his election victory by Russian President Vladimir Putin.[30] On 29 April, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa made a telephone call to Amedi to congratulate him on taking office.[31]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Only for the caretaker government that the source referred to.[7]
  2. ↑ planning to run as an independent in the presidential election despite an insuffiency in PUK support.[8]
  3. ↑ [4][3][13]
  4. ↑ [7][14][8]
  5. ↑ In the first round, a two-thirds majority of those registered is required, not a majority of the votes cast. In the second round, the election only requires obtaining the greatest number of votes between the two remaining candidates, i.e. the absolute majority of the votes cast.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Iraq elections 2025: How votes are won and what the results could mean for Iraq's fragile stability". chathamhouse.org. 21 October 2025. Archived from the original on 21 November 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Political Scramble, Parliamentary Consultations in Iraq to Name New President". qna.org.qa. 13 January 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "44 مرشحا لرئاسة العراق يتقدمهم الرئيس الحالي" [44 candidates for the Iraqi presidency, led by the current president]. الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Xinhua. "More than 40 candidates register for Iraq's presidential election". chinadailyhk. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Mahmoud, Sinan. "Iraqi citizens apply to be president in challenge to post-Saddam political system". The National News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "Premiership, presidency deadlock clouds Iraq's post-election outlook". thearabweekly.com. 20 January 2026. Retrieved 22 January 2026. Traditionally, the presidency has been held by the PUK since the post-invasion period, but the KDP recently argued there is no legal or constitutional barrier preventing a president from outside the party.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "81 candidates, including four women, vie for Iraqi presidency". Emirates News Agency. 16 January 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Ali Ragab (16 January 2026). "The Iraqi parliament announces the final list of presidential candidates, with the competition narrowed down to the two main figures from Sulaymaniyah and Erbil". Voice of Emirates.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "برلمان العراق يوافق على 15 مرشحاً للانتخابات الرئاسية" [Iraq's parliament approves 15 candidates for the presidential elections] (in Arabic). Nova.new.
  10. ↑ "Iraq Parliament opens presidential vote with 16 candidates". Shafaq News. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "البرلمان العراقي ينشر أسماء 15 مرشحا لمنصب رئاسة الجمهورية" [The Iraqi parliament publishes the names of 15 candidates for the presidency] (in Arabic). kuna.net.
  12. 1 2 "Iraq clears 15 candidates for presidential race". Shafaq News. 15 January 2026.
  13. ↑ Laith Aljnaidi; Lina Altawell. "44 candidates apply to run for Iraq's presidency: Parliament speaker". Anadolu Agency. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  14. ↑ "15 مرشحاً لرئاسة العراق" [15 candidates for the Iraqi presidency]. The New Arab (in Arabic). 16 January 2026. وجاء هذا الإعلان بعدما تقدّم لغرض الترشح للمنصب 81 مرشحاً ومرشحة، وتضمنت أسماء ناشطين وصحافيين وإعلاميين، لكن جرى حذفها. ووفقاً لبيان صدر عن البرلمان، فإنه تقرر قبول ترشح 15 شخصاً للمنصب، بينما تم رفض 66 طلباً للترشح. [This announcement came after 81 candidates, including activists, journalists, and media figures, initially applied for the position, but their names were subsequently removed. According to a statement issued by Parliament, 15 candidates were approved, while 66 applications were rejected.]
  15. ↑ "Iraqi parliament to convene to elect new president amid deep divisions". thenationalnews.com. 27 January 2026.
  16. 1 2 Zeynep Gül (27 January 2026). "2026 Presidential Election in Iraq and the Political Process". kureansiklopedi.com.
  17. 1 2 3 Toomey, Bridget (11 February 2026). "3 months after elections, Iraq still unable to form a government". Long War Journal. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Iraq presidential vote delayed as Kurdish blocs struggle to pick candidate". Al Jazeera English. 27 January 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Iraqi Parliament to Hold Presidential Election Session Tuesday". Kurdistan 24. 25 January 2026.
  20. ↑ "Iraq sets date for presidential election". report.az. 25 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "Iraqi lawmakers to elect president this week, PM appointment next". Al Arabiya English. 25 January 2026.
  22. ↑ "Iraqi parliament to hold session to elect president on Tuesday". The New Region. 27 January 2026. Iraq has often failed to honor the constitutional timeframes, as disagreements between rivaling blocs hinder the process, resulting in long delays and, at times, unrest in the country.
  23. ↑ "Iraq's April 11 presidential vote: Who will attend?". Shafaq News. 10 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  24. ↑ "Iraq presidential vote at risk over political divisions". Shafaq News. 10 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  25. 1 2 "Iraq parliament heads to presidential runoff after first-round failure". Shafaq News. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  26. ↑ "PUK Candidate Nizar Amedi Elected President of Iraq in Parliamentary Vote". Kurdistan24. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "Nizar Amedi elected as Iraqi president". The New Region. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  28. ↑ "Iraq elects Nizar Amidi as president in second-round vote". Saudi Gazette. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "KDP will not recognize Iraq's "illegitimate" president vote". Shafaq News. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  30. ↑ "Putin congratulates Nizar Amidi on election as president of Iraq". Anadolu Agency. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  31. ↑ "President al-Sharaa congratulates Iraqi counterpart on assuming office". SANA. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
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