Barzani: Neither I nor any of my relatives will run in the presidential elections
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani on Sunday stated that he would not run in the upcoming presidential elections.
“The elections will be held in November as scheduled. Neither I nor any of my relatives will nominate themselves for the presidency,” Barzani said during an interview with Okaz, a Saudi-based newspaper.
Barzani has been leading the Kurdistan Region as President since 1991. After the fall of the Baath regime in Iraq in 2003, Barzani was elected as President, and his term was later extended following the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq.
Along with other political parties in the Kurdistan Region, Barzani recently agreed to hold a referendum on independence scheduled for Sep 25.
“Postponing the referendum is inconceivable,” he told the Saudi newspaper.
He noted that what has been happening in Iraq over the past years has pushed the Kurdistan Region toward the referendum. He pointed to former Prime Minister of Iraq Nuri al-Maliki for subjecting Iraq to a sectarianism conflict, monopolizing power, destroying the relationship between Erbil and Baghdad, and violating the Constitution of the country.
President Barzani emphasized that the people of the Kurdistan Region are better placed than anyone else to know when is a good time to hold the referendum, stating the time for it is now.
He acknowledged that in an independent Kurdistan, the right of all ethnoreligious minorities would be constitutionally guaranteed and that they would be “genuine partners in government.”
The Kurdish President said that during the recent phone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, he agreed to hold talks with Baghdad to work toward a better future for both nations, but objected to postponing the referendum, insisting on the holding the vote on time.
Barzani also touched upon other issues, such as Iran and Turkey's impact on the Region. He underscored Iran's influence in Baghdad. “Frankly Iranian influence in Baghdad is stronger than the influence of any other country in Iraq.”
He recognized Turkey's investment in the Kurdistan Region but reiterated it disagrees on labeling the PKK a “terrorist group.”
“In spite of our differences with PKK, we don't view them as a terrorist organization.”
Commenting on the fight against the Islamic State (IS) and Peshmerga casualties, he reminded the interviewer that since June 2014, 1,781 Peshmerga have been ‘martyred’ while fighting the jihadist group and 10,161 more were wounded.
The Peshmerga has been one of the effective ground forces in defeating IS in Iraq, former US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter acknowledged when he was in his role.
Editing by G.H. Renaud