The President’s Office of Iraq issued a written statement to say that President Fuad Masum is calling the new parliament to hold its first session with the oldest member as the chair on September 3 with a decree.

The decree was issued after the Federal Supreme Court approved the outcome of the May 12 elections.

According to the election results approved by the court, the Sairun Coalition led by Shia leader Muqtada Sadr won 54 seats in the parliament with 329.

Iraqi political blocks have been in intense negotiations to create the widest alliance before the first session of the parliament. The coalition to be formed will govern the country for the next four years.

The Iraqi Constitution requires the President to call the parliament to session within 15 days of the approval of election results, and the parliament is required to heed the call and elect first the chairperson of the parliament, and then the President. The new President will in turn ask the biggest alliance to form the government in 30 days.

As discussions on who the next President will be continue, PUK has put up Dr. Muhammed Sabir Ismail as their candidate. As per the agreements signed after the fall of the Saddam regime in Iraq, the President has to be Kurdish.

In 2005, PUK Secretary General Jalal Talabani, KDP Leader Masoud Barzani and the Iraqi central government had decided to give the Presidency to the PUK and regional presidency to the KDP, but after this year’s elections, discussions on which party the President should be from flared up again between the PUK and the KDP.