PUK's second presidential candidate refuses to withdraw from race

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Latif Rashid, a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), says he will not withdraw his candidacy for the Iraqi president post.

Rashid held a press conference in Sulaimani on Saturday to reiterate his application for the Iraqi presidency which the Iraqi Parliament is expected to finalize on Oct. 2.

According to the PUK candidate, he has served Iraq on numerous occasions, especially within the opposition groups against the former Iraqi regime pre-2003.

Rashid called for unity among the Kurdish political parties, insisting he will implement programs if elected as Iraq’s next president.

Meanwhile, Saadi Ahmed Pira, the PUK spokesperson, told Kurdish media outlets that Barham Salih is the party’s candidate and if MPs in Baghdad voted for Rashid, the PUK would congratulate him.

After casting his vote in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, Kosrat Rasool Ali, the Deputy Secretary General of the PUK, reiterated that his party only has one candidate (Salih) for the Iraqi president post.

Although there are currently seven contenders for the presidency, it is likely the competition will come down to the KDP’s Fuad Hussein and Salih. The latter left the party he recently formed, the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), to secure his nomination with the PUK.

Negotiations have intensified between the leadership of both parties and the heads of major Iraqi parties over the presidency.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany