2026-05-05T11:20:22+00:00
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Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court registered on Tuesday the
first legal challenge to the constitutional validity of Ali al-Zaidi’s
designation as prime minister-designate.
The case was filed by Raed al-Maliki, a former member
of parliament, acting in his capacity as a private citizen and independent
political figure.
The lawsuit —the first of its kind since President Nizar Amedi mandated al-Zaidi on April 27— rests on four grounds according to
al-Maliki: an alleged failure to meet candidacy requirements; a constitutional
and legal conflict of interest; a procedural defect in the nomination, on the
grounds that al-Zaidi was put forward by a political alliance rather than a
parliamentary bloc and that the nomination bore the signatures of political
leaders rather than being submitted through the constitutionally prescribed
mechanism; and a contention that a candidacy disconnected from the popular will
risks depressing voter participation and enabling foreign interference —which
al-Maliki said had already occurred.
Speaking outside the court, al-Maliki argued that the
office of the prime minister demands the judgment of a statesman with a record
in political and administrative affairs. “The constitution requires
political experience, not connections,” he said.
Al-Zaidi, a prominent Iraqi businessman, was tasked by
President Amedi with forming the new government following his nomination by the
Coordination Framework, the dominant Shiite political alliance in parliament,
as successor to outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
No hearing date has been announced by the court.
Read more: Al-Zaidi named prime minister: Easy nomination, harder road ahead