KDP candidate for Iraqi presidency withdraws

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) candidate for the Iraqi President of Republic position withdrew from the presidential race for the sake of reaching “national consensus”, according to a tweet.

Ahead of the Iraqi parliament session on Thursday to elect a president a year after the parliamentary elections, Rebar Ahmed, the KDP candidate, announced his withdrawal, he announced in a tweet.

The party previously confirmed the withdrawal in an official statement.

“In order to achieve national consensus and serve the interests of citizens and homeland, we submitted a request to withdraw our candidacy,” Reber Ahmed said in a tweet.

Ahmed is the current minister of interior in the Kurdistan Region as well as the acting head of the Department of Foreign Relations. The incumbent Iraqi President Barham Salih is the candidate of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) who is running for the same position. 

The KDP is set to vote for Dr. Lateef Rashid, an independent candidate, for the position, the party's head of the parliamentary bloc in Baghdad told Kurdistan 24.

A year after its parliamentary elections on Oct. 10, 2021, Iraqi parties have not yet been able to form a government and elect a president for the country.

The Iraqi lawmakers are set to convene on Thursday in Baghdad to elect a president.