Coordination Framework urges KDP, PUK to agree on presidential candidate

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework on Monday called on the Kurdistan Region’s main political parties to reach an agreement on a candidate for the Iraqi presidency.

Iraq held parliamentary elections in November, but political parties have since failed to elect both a president and a prime minister due to ongoing disagreements. The presidency has traditionally been held by a Kurdish figure for over two decades. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which secured the majority of Kurdish votes in the latest elections, are competing for the largely ceremonial post.

In a statement, the Coordination Framework urged the KDP and PUK to resolve the dispute over the presidency in order to safeguard constitutional rights.

The call comes as political negotiations intensify to elect Iraq’s next president and appoint a new prime minister. Kurdish parties have so far failed to agree on a unified presidential candidate, while efforts to name a prime minister have also stalled, reportedly following what appears to be a U.S. veto of Nouri al-Maliki, the Coordination Framework’s nominee for the position.

The statement added that participants were “very concerned” about maintaining unity within the coalition and ensuring its continuity, citing the trust placed in them by voters in the elections.

Iraq held legislative elections on November 11. Parliament convened on December 29 to elect its speaker and two deputies. Under the constitution, a president must be elected within 30 days of the first parliamentary session. Once sworn in, the president has up to 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government.

Since 2003, Iraq has followed an informal power-sharing arrangement that allocates the parliamentary speakership to Sunni Arabs, the premiership to Shiite Arabs, and the presidency to the Kurds.

Both the KDP and PUK have nominated candidates for the presidency. Their failure to agree on a single joint nominee has reportedly contributed to the current political deadlock. The PUK, which has largely held the mostly ceremonial position since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, argues that the presidency is its political entitlement. The KDP rejects this claim and has reportedly offered the PUK other federal positions in exchange for control of the presidency.