Baghdad: The process of vetting the resumes and documents of candidates for the presidency of Iraq has reached its final stages. Out of 81 candidates, only 13 remain in the race, while the majority were disqualified due to “lack of political experience” or “existing legal issues.”
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Muthanna Amin, one of the presidential candidates, told the Kurdish media network Rudaw that he received a notification from the legal department of the Iraqi Parliament requiring him to submit additional documents to prove his mother’s citizenship, thus confirming that both his parents are Iraqi. Amin expressed his surprise, saying, “My father passed away in 2009 and did not possess a national identity card, yet they did not request a document attesting to his citizenship. However, they requested a document for my mother, who passed away several months ago and possessed a national identity card.”
Accordingly, Muthanna Amin went to the Sulaimaniyah Nationality Directorate today to complete the procedures and obtain the necessary certification to submit to the committee. Regarding the number of remaining candidates, Muthanna Amin said, “Out of 81 candidates, more than 60 were disqualified, most of them due to a lack of political experience.”
For his part, Abdullah Al-Ulayawi, another candidate, told Rudaw on Wednesday that those with incomplete documents have been given until Sunday to complete them. He also indicated that more than 60 candidates were disqualified for reasons related to a lack of political experience, criminal records, issues related to accountability and justice, or educational qualifications. Al-Ulayawi, who served for years as an advisor to the Presidency of the Republic and currently serves as an advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, stated that “the committee overseeing the process is scheduled to meet today, and the names of the accepted candidates are expected to be announced this afternoon.”
Mulla Bakhtiar is among the disqualified candidates. The office of the prominent Kurdish politician announced to Rudaw Media Network on Tuesday that “the news of his disqualification is true, but there is a three-day period for appeal. Since there is an official holiday in between, we have four days, and we will submit the appeal by Sunday.” The reasons for rejecting Mala Bakhtiar’s candidacy stem from two main points: the first concerns his mother’s identity, and the second relates to an academic certificate he obtained in 2013. His office explained that “Bakhtiar possesses other certificates, which he will submit along with his mother’s identity to the relevant authorities in the coming days to officially confirm his candidacy.”
On the party level, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) officially nominated Nizar Amidi, while the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) nominated Fuad Hussein and Nawzad Hadi for the position. The deadline for submitting candidates’ CVs was January 5, 2026.
Safwan Karjari, Secretary-General of the Iraqi Parliament, previously told Rudaw that the CVs underwent rigorous vetting, and that a significant number were rejected due to low educational qualifications or political backgrounds. According to the constitution, the president must be elected within 30 days of the first parliamentary session (held on December 29, 2025). Article 70 of the constitution stipulates that the president is elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament’s members. If no candidate receives this majority, a second round of voting is held between the two candidates with the most votes. The candidate who receives a majority in the second round becomes the new president of the Republic of Iraq.