Kurdish parties submit presidential nominations as Iraq closes candidate list

Shafaq News– Erbil/ Baghdad (Updated at 16:04 p.m.)

Iraq’s two main Kurdish parties on Monday named their nominees for the presidency, as Parliament Speaker Haibet Al-Halbousi announced the closure of the nomination period with 44 candidates registered.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) confirmed Fuad Hussein and Nawzad Hadi as its candidates for the post, party member Wafa Mohammed Karim told Shafaq News.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said it had nominated Nizar Amedi as its sole and official contender, according to party member Mahmoud Khoshnaw.

Under Iraq’s constitution, lawmakers must elect a president within 30 days of the first parliamentary session. The presidency —traditionally held by a Kurdish figure— requires a two-thirds majority in the first round, or a simple majority in a second round if no candidate prevails initially.

Read more: Kurdish parties submit presidential nominations as Iraq closes candidate list

Once elected, the president has 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government. The prime minister-designate then has 30 days to present a cabinet and government program to parliament for a confidence vote.

The presidency has historically been difficult to fill, largely due to rivalry between the KDP and PUK, which has repeatedly delayed voting sessions by preventing the two-thirds quorum required for a vote.

Following the October 2021 elections, parliament failed for months to elect a president amid Kurdish divisions and broader Shiite political deadlock. The impasse ended in October 2022 with the election of Abdul Latif Rashid, paving the way for the formation of a government led by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani after nearly a year of negotiations.

Since 2005, Iraq’s presidency has been held by the PUK, beginning with Jalal Talabani, followed by Fouad Masum, Barham Salih, and the current president, Abdul Latif Rashid.

KDP’s leader, Masoud Barzani, has previously called for the presidency to be agreed upon collectively by Kurdish parties and blocs, rather than dominated by the KDP–PUK rivalry. He proposed several options, including selecting a candidate through the Kurdistan Parliament, a joint meeting of Kurdish parties, or coordination among Kurdish lawmakers within Iraq’s federal parliament.