KDP source: Decision on presidential candidate postponed to Sunday

Shafaq News- Erbil

A source within the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said a final decision on the party’s candidate for Iraq’s presidency has been postponed until next Sunday.

The source told Shafaq News on Wednesday that consultations are ongoing within the party and with other political actors, mainly the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), regarding the nomination, and reports of “an agreement between [KDP leader] Masoud Barzani and [PUK head] Bafel Talabani to name Nizar Amedi as a candidate for the presidency of the republic is not accurate.”

The KDP had put forward Fuad Hussein, Iraq’s current foreign minister, as its candidate for the position, while the PUK confirmed Nizar Amedi as its sole candidate.

Under Iraq’s constitution, the president is elected by parliament and requires a two-thirds quorum in the first round of voting. Disputes between the KDP and PUK during two earlier parliamentary sessions contributed to delays in filling the post.

The Iraqi presidency is traditionally held by a Kurdish figure under the country’s post-2003 power-sharing arrangement and is elected by parliament.

Read more: Iraq slips into constitutional vacuum as presidential deadlock drags on