ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s parliament approved the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) candidate for the Iraqi presidency on Tuesday, deciding to vote for the position at the end of next week.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on October 10. The new members of the parliament elected the legislature’s presidency in January but they have failed to elect a president for the country due to disputes. The KDP initially fielded Iraq’s former foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, for the position but his candidacy was revoked by the Supreme Federal Court due to corruption allegations.
The parliament gave another chance to the political parties to field candidates, with the KDP fielding Kurdistan Region’s Interior Minister Reber Ahmed for the position on February 14.
The legislature said on Tuesday that 59 people had submitted applications to the position but only 33 were approved, including Ahmed, adding that it rejected the rest as they did not meet certain conditions such as lacking political background and university degrees, and one candidate for failing to meet the age requirement.
During a session of the legislature earlier in the day, Mohammed al-Halbousi, the previous and incumbent speaker of the parliament, said that the new president will be voted upon at the end of next week.
According to a long-standing customary agreement, the three main leadership positions in the Iraqi government are divided among Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. Kurds get the presidency, Shiites get the premiership, and Sunnis get the parliamentary speaker. Among Kurds, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has held on to the presidency position since 2005.
The PUK has nominated Barham Salih, incumbent president of the country, to remain in his position, but the KDP has refused to support his candidacy.
The top winner, the Sadrist movement, has struck a deal with the KDP and most Sunnis. The leaders of the alliance are expected to meet in Erbil in the coming days.
