Mullah Bakhtiar expects surprise over joint KDP-PUK presidency candidate
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – “I expect a surprise over a joint Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)-Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate for Iraq’s presidency, Mullah Bakhtiar, member of the High Political and Interests Council of the PUK, told a press conference on Saturday.
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Mullah Bakhtiar held a press conference discussing the political situation in the Kurdistan Region, the dispute between the PUK and KDP over Iraq’s presidency, and the issue of holding Kurdistan parliamentary elections.
“Decentralization for Sulaimani province and its linkage to Baghdad outside the laws and regulations of the region has failed,” said Mullah Bakhtiar.
Mullah Bakhtiar emphasized, “the PUK team in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) must be held responsible in case of Sulaimani’s failure economically or financially.”
Since the October elections, the PUK and KDP have struggled to agree on one joint candidate for Iraq’s presidency. PUK believes the position is a PUK merit, while the KDP argues that it belongs to all Kurds and that all Kurdish political parties should be able to compete for it.