Shafaq News – Erbil

The Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) performance in the latest parliamentary elections gives it a leading role in selecting Iraq’s next president, a senior party official said on Saturday.

Kamal Kirkuki, a member of the party’s political bureau, told journalists in Erbil that while the presidency “belongs to the Kurdish people rather than any single party,” the political force that secured more than one million votes should play a central role in the decision.

The KDP won 26 seats in the 329-member parliament in the November 11 election, according to official results.

Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing arrangement, the presidency has traditionally been held by a Kurdish figure, most often from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), while the KDP holds the Kurdistan Region presidency. Disputes between the KDP and the PUK over the post have also previously delayed government formation.

No timetable has yet been announced for talks on selecting the next president or forming a new federal government.

Read more: Stronger at the ballot box, weaker at the table: Kurdistan enters 2026 talks divided