‘Fuad Hussein is the KDP’s most likely backup candidate for Iraqi presidency’: official

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Fazil Mirani, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Politburo Secretary, revealed on Thursday that Fuad Hussein will be the KDP’s most likely backup candidate for the Iraqi presidency.

“We will likely nominate Iraq’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein as a backup candidate for the position of Iraq’s president behind our main candidate Hoshyar Zebari,” Mirani told the Voice of America. “And today (Thursday) Bafel Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will visit KDP President Masoud Barzani.”

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Mirani went on to state that no matter what comes out of the Iraqi Federal Court regarding Zebari’s case it is good for the KDP to have a backup candidate.

“We hope the meeting between Barzani and Talabani will succeed and the two parties agree on a compromise agreement that would be followed by the meeting of the two parties’ politburos,” said Mirani. “The presidency was held by PUK for many terms. Why can’t the KDP have it this time for the next four years?”

Mirani denied rumors that he plans on nominating himself as a candidate and confirmed that he has no interest in the position.

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“The Iraqi presidency, during previous terms, did not benefit Kurdistan Region in any way, because the powers of the position are very limited,” he said. 

Regarding the KDP’s veto against the PUK’s Barham Salih, the incumbent Iraqi president, Mirani pointed out that President Salih’s actions undermined Kurdish interests.

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