Iraqi parliament faces another 2018 scenario to choose "guardian of the constitution"

Shafaq News / The rounds of understandings held between the Kurdistan's Democratic Party (K.D.P.) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (P.U.K.) have failed to deliver so far. Once again, the two leading Kurdish parties are unable to come up with a single candidate for the presidency of the republic, rendering the replication of the 2018 scenario more probable as the clock ticks towards the end of the deadline.

In 2018, the two main parties in Kurdistan stumbled, with two candidates attending the presidential election session in the Iraqi Parliament: K.D.P. nominated Fouad Hussein, the current foreign minister, and P.U.K. nominated Barham Saleh, who won the post.

Today, the two Kurdish players do not have much time to resolve their dispute, as the Iraqi parliament has set February 8 as a deadline to receive nominations for the presidency.

During the past presidential sessions, a candidate from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan took over as President of the Republic.

However, after K.D.P. won 31 parliamentary seats in the last legislative elections, compared to only 17 seats for P.U.K., the balancing act changed as K.D.P. announced nominating Hoshyar Zebari for the presidency post.

The K.D.P. considers the position of president as a Kurdish entitlement that does not belong to a specific party, so the candidate must be chosen by consensus, according to the party's deputy Majid Shankali, who stated that the party already nominated Hoshyar Zebari for the post.

"So far, there has been no consensus between the two leading Kurdish parties. It seems that another 2018 scenario is around the corner. Each party will put forward a candidate, and the vote in the parliament decides," Shankali elaborated.

"If there is no consensus among the Kurdish parties on one candidate soon, there will be candidates from the two parties; K.D.P.'s Barham Salih and P.U.K.'s Hoshyar Zebari," he said, adding, "Zebari is likely to win the post, due to political agreements with the Sadrist Movement, al-Azm Alliance, and the Takaddum Alliance."

For his part, a reliable source in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan told Shafaq News agency that the leadership council of the Union held a closed meeting in al-Sulaymaniyah governorate, headed by the joint president of the party Bafel Talabani.

In the meeting, the Union's candidate was chosen. It was also unanimously approved that Barham Saleh is the only candidate for the post.

"Since the K.D.P., away from the principle of consensus, has put forward its candidate, the P.U.K. has the right to defend its entitlements since the position belongs to the Kurds and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan," a PUK statement said.

The statement frankly accused the KDP of attempting to marginalize the Kurdish parties, particularly the PUK, and take over the Presidency of the Republic in coordination with other Iraqi parties,

Judge Rizkar Mohamed Amin has also announced that he will be vying for the post with the candidates of the two Kurdish parties.

On the other hand, the Sadrist Movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr believes that strategic alliances with Sunni and Kurdish partners can win the three presidencies, because they have secured the number of votes needed to form a government.

As soon as the Kurdish forces agree upon a candidate for the presidency, the prime minister and the cabinet lineup will be put for deliberation.

"The Federal Court will make a final decision that commensurates with the givings presented before it. However, it will not affect our strategic alliances with partners supporting the national majority government program," a source in the Sadrist Movement told Shafaq News agency.

"The process of forming the government is in full swing, and the Sadrist bloc, as the largest with its parliamentary seats, has the right to name or put forward the prime minister's candidate", the source added.

On January 13, the Federal Supreme Court issued a decision to temporarily suspend the Iraqi Parliament's Presidium after two complaints by independent MP Bassem Khushan and MP Mahmoud al-Mashhadani for the first session, which they said was marred by irregularities to the constitution and the assembly's internal law.