Kurdish KDP delegates to visit Baghdad ahead of parliament’s session on presidency vote

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation from the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is scheduled to fly to Baghdad on Monday, ahead of the Iraqi parliament’s evening session on the presidency vote, a high-ranking source from the party said.

The Iraqi parliament will convene at 8:00 pm to elect the new president of Iraq.

“The KDP insists that the Kurdish factions in Baghdad decide the post of the Iraqi Presidency before the parliamentary session begins by agreeing on a single Kurdish candidate,” the source told Kurdistan 24.

There are multiple candidates for the post of president and an intense rivalry between the top two nominees, Fuad Hussein of the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Barham Salih.

According to the traditional system of power-sharing in Iraq, the Prime Minister's post is held by a member of the Shia community, a Sunni Iraqi is speaker of parliament, and a Kurd holds the presidency.

“Although the KDP is confident that Hussein will gain most of the votes and have a better chance to win, we call on all Kurdish factions in Baghdad to agree on a single nominee and lobby for a majority in parliament rather than giving an opportunity to Sunni or Shia Arabs to compete and present their candidates,” the KDP source added.

Salih on Friday met with KDP leader and former President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, in Erbil to discuss the presidency of Iraq.

Barzani stated that the Kurdish political parties in the Kurdistan Region should initiate a mechanism to finalize the matter and respect the opinion of the people of Kurdistan.

“Each candidate with the highest number of votes will be elected as Kurdistan’s candidate for the president post,” Barzani added.

The Kurdish blocs in Baghdad should finalize the matter, and their decision should be respected, the KDP head noted.

Iraqi parties in Baghdad have also reiterated their call for the Kurds to reach agreement among themselves and present a single nominee for the post.

Since 2006, the post of the Iraqi president has been given to the PUK based on agreements with the KDP. Last month, the KDP called on all parties to meet and present a single candidate for the Iraqi President, but the PUK unilaterally announced Salih as their nominee without gaining the consent of other parties. The move led the leading KDP to present Hussein as their own candidate.

Following Iraq’s May 12 national election, the KDP remained the largest Kurdish faction in the country by securing 25 seats followed with PUK’s 18 seats.

Editing by Nadia Riva