KDP's Zebari denies waiving the post of the Iraqi President, confirms that it needs a Kurdish consensus

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Hoshyar Zebari, commented on the news that the Party had "waived" the presidency in favor of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

"Some social media sites, and platforms and irresponsible cyber army published a fabricated statement saying that the Kurdistan Democratic Party, have waived the position of President of the Republic." Zebari posted on Facebook.

He added, "These reports are farther from the truth and completely inaccurate, and we confirm that we did not issue such a statement."

"This sovereign position is essential for Iraq and needs first and foremost a Kurdish consensus."

On Monday, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) decided to endorse Barham Salih for the Iraqi Presidency.

A source in the Party told Shafaq News Agency that Bafel Talabani headed the meeting of the PUK political Bureau in the absence of Mullah Bakhtiar and Imad Ahmed.

Earlier, Giyath Sawraji, a Leading figure in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, said that the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) already have an agreement on the Presidency of the Republic and the differences are on the candidate.

Sawraji told our Agency, "we have an agreement with the KDP. The Presidency of the Republic is ours. They did not nominate anyone for the position."

"However, the disagreement between the two leading Kurdish parties is over the nominee. PUK insists on Barham Salih. But the KDP have some reservations."

Barham A. Salih is an Iraqi Kurdish politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region from 2009-2012. He was elected to a leadership role at the first conference of the Political Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party. He was also chosen to head the PUK office in the United States.

Following the 1992 parliamentary elections, he became the newly formed Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative to the US. During his time in the US.

He was appointed Prime Minister of the KRG in Sulaimani from 2001-2004. After the fall of the Ba'athist regime, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Interim Iraqi Government in mid-2004, the Minister of Planning in the transitional government in 2005, and Deputy Prime Minister again from 2005-2009. In addition to his role as Deputy Prime Minister, he was also in charge of the economic portfolio and head of the Economic Committee.

On October 2, 2018, Salih was elected President of the Republic of Iraq.