Salih is the PUK's only candidate, MP says

Shafaq News / The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) launched a campaign to promote its candidate for Presidency, incumbent President Barham Salih, MP Suzanne Mansour revealed on Wednesday.

Mansour told Shafaq News Agency that the al-Sulaymaniyah-based Kurdish party is approaching Shiite and Sunni parties eying an agreement that might boost Salih's odds for a second consecutive term.

She confirmed that Salih is the PUK's only candidate, noting that if the Kurdish forces chose to vote for the Kurdistan Democratic party's candidate, Hoshyar Zebari, then it will be a slap on democracy and will hinder forming the new government.

According to the customs in place since toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, the President of the Republic must be a Kurd from the PUK.

However, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) chose Hoshyar Zebari as a candidate.

The KDP won 31 seats in the October elections, while the PUK obtained only 17.

The Parliament Presidium has set February 8 as a deadline for receiving candidate applications for the position of President of the country.