President Barzani and Faiq Zidan Discuss the Political Situation in Iraq
President Masoud Barzani met Iraq's Judicial Council head Faiq Zidan in Pirmam to discuss the nation's political situation, party entitlements, and the steps of the Iraqi political process.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Today, Saturday, in Pirmam, Kurdistan Region, President Masoud Barzani received Faiq Zidan, the President of the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq.
According to a statement from the Barzani Headquarters, the meeting involved an exchange of views regarding the political situation in Iraq, the entitlements of the various parties, and the steps of the Iraqi political process.
On the same day, the Politburo of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced it would dispatch a negotiating delegation to engage with rival political factions across the Kurdistan Region, aiming to secure a unified Kurdish nominee for the Iraqi presidency. The decision was taken during a high-level leadership meeting in Pirmam, presided over by President Masoud Barzani, reflecting an effort to consolidate the Kurdish political position before entering the government formation process in Baghdad.
Dr. Daner Abdulghaffar, a member of the KDP’s bloc in the Iraqi Parliament, provided details of the closed-door discussions to Kurdistan24 reporter Hoshmand Sadiq. He said the agenda was dominated by the issue of the Iraqi presidency, a sovereign post allocated to the Kurdish component under the ethno-sectarian power-sharing customs established following the 2003 transition.
Addressing speculation over potential nominees, Dr. Abdulghaffar stressed that the party has not yet named a candidate. “So far, no candidate has been designated by the Party for that post,” he told Kurdistan24.
He added that the leadership’s priority is to ensure broad agreement rather than advance a partisan choice. “The Party’s candidate will be that person upon whom there is the consensus and agreement of the Kurdish people and the people of Kurdistan,” he said.
To implement this approach, the KDP Politburo directed the formation of a negotiating delegation. According to Dr. Abdulghaffar, the delegation is expected to begin formal talks with other political parties in the Kurdistan Region within the next one or two days.
As constitutional deadlines approach, the Pirmam meeting and the KDP’s outreach initiative underscore intensifying coordination around the Iraqi presidency and the broader political process.
Updated on Jan. 3, 2025, 3:44 pm, More background information has been added to the report.