ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iraqi parliament is set to hold a session on Tuesday afternoon to elect the country's next president, with 19 candidates vying for the top post.

The session, scheduled to start at 11:00 am Tueaday, has a single item on its agenda, according to the parliament:"Election of the President of the Republic."

The position, traditionally reserved for Kurds, is constitutionally required to be settled by the parliament within 30 days of the new legislature's first session, in this case January 28.

Nineteen candidates are in the race for the post. Out of 81 individuals who sumbitted applications for the position, initially only 15 were deemed eligible, but four candidates were later reinstated after the Iraqi top court screened 28 appeals.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has nominated current Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and former Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has fielded former environment minister and head of its Baghdad office Nizar Amedi. The incumbent President Abdul Latif Rashid, a senior PUK member, is running independently. Lawmaker Muthanna Amin, meanwhile, is representing Kurdish opposition parties in the race.

The parliament late Monday dismissed reports that the session would be postponed as “unfounded”, reaffirming that the session “will take place at its scheduled time.”

Once the vote is completed, the elected president must select a prime minister-designate to form the government and present it to parliament within 30 days.

Iraq's ruling Shiite bloc, the Coordination Framework, announced that it had agreed on State of Law's Nouri al-Maliki to reassume the premiership for a third term earlier in the week, calling on the parliament to quickly hold its session to settle the presidency.

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.