Iraq will hold parliamentary elections on May 12, announced state television on Monday. The Supreme Federal Court on Sunday ruled against calls by Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers to delay the election to allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced by war to return home. Politicians, including Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, had argued delaying the election would be unconstitutional. Abadi is seeking re-election, taking advantage of a spike in his popularity after leading, with the backing of the US-led coalition, Iraq to victory in a three-year battle against the ISIS terrorist group. The US embassy in Baghdad had on Thursday warned against the postponement of the elections, saying it “would set a dangerous precedent, undermining the constitution and damaging Iraq’s long-term democratic development."