The presidency, a largely ceremonial role in the new Iraq, was given to the Kurds as a gesture of power-sharing and partnership to bridge sectarian divides. With this agreement, the KDP and PUK began a new chapter in their political lives.
KDP leader Masoud Barzani assumed the Kurdistan Region presidency while PUK chief Jalal Talabani took the Iraqi presidency.
The agreement finally led to some measure of balance between the two parties and helped the separate administrations of Erbil and Sulaimani unite. The Kurdistan Region was able to rapidly develop – as did Iraq’s Kurdish question.
The death of Talabani in late 2017 disturbed that balance.
The PUK took the initiative, supporting the extension of President Barzani’s term for two years in 2013, hoping the KDP would in turn help them secure the position of Iraqi president for a third term.
In 2014, the PUK’s candidate Fuad Masum was nominated for the Iraqi presidency.
Now the arithmetic has changed, again disturbing the delicate balance. If the question of the presidency can’t be resolved sensitively, there may be trouble.
On October 16, 2017, Iraqi forces and Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias took over Kirkuk and other disputed territories, forcing out the Peshmerga and Kurdish administration. President Barzani resigned and the post of the Kurdistan Region presidency was suspended – his powers distributed across government.
With the KDP relinquishing the Kurdistan Region presidency, its leaders no longer felt bound by the agreement that guaranteed the PUK Iraq’s presidency.
Now the KDP is running its own candidate for the presidency, Fuad Hussein, challenging the PUK’s Barham Salih.
The Kurds should give up on the Iraqi presidency altogether or at least reach an advance agreement on the post to avoid further disagreements and complications.
The KDP and PUK should also reach an agreement on the post of Kirkuk governor. There is still time to find a way to resolve these political frictions.
Most parties have nominated a candidate for the presidency. Multiple Kurdish candidates for this post indicate deep disagreements among Kurdish parties. Now it is difficult for all the parties to agree on one candidate. Iraqi parties are unlikely to wade into the dispute.
The KDP and PUK must urgently hold a meeting to agree on one candidate – or at the very least strike a new deal to divide Kurdish positions of power in Baghdad into two groups: the Iraqi presidency and deputy speaker of parliament on the one hand and the deputy prime minister and a key ministry on the other.
This should then be voted on by the Iraqi parliament, restoring the balance between KDP and PUK.
If they fail to restore this balance, the result in the Kurdistan Region could be disastrous – leading to two rival administrations or even two separate regions.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
