Following the May 12 elections in Iraq, the parliamentary president was elected recently and all eyes have turned to the Presidency. The discussions that started immediately after the elections between the KDP and the PUK on which party the President will be from have taken on another dimension after the Parliamentary President was elected. The PUK Politbureau convened last week and put up Barham Salih as the Presidential candidate, and the KDP announced that they don’t accept the nomination and they will be putting up their own candidate.

KDP ANNOUNCES CANDIDATE

KDP announced their candidate as Fuat Huseyin yesterday.

The KDP Politbureau statement said in clear terms that the office of the Presidency won’t be left to the PUK:

“We have let the PUK know that the Presidency rightfully belongs to Kurds, and not any one party. That is why we can’t make sense of the PUK’s insistence on the Iraqi Presidency. The agreement we made with the PUK in 2005 is no longer valid, as President Barzani is no longer the Kurdistan Regional President, and Jalal Talabani is no longer the Iraqi President.”

KDP said they expected PUK to nominate a candidate after consulting with them but the PUK disregarded all and put up Barham Salih:

“As the KDP, we want an Iraqi President. History is witness to it, we have never strived for seats and titles. But a person who would fulfill this duty as it should be done and protect the interests of the people of Kurdistan with support from all sides isn’t who was chosen. This office shouldn’t be left to individuals who have no influence or will anymore.”

KDP IS CONSIDERED TO BE ACTING OUTSIDE THE LAW

Many politicians, intellectuals, writers, lawyers and various groups have joined the disagreement between the KDP and the PUK, over the Presidency this time. Many believe the KDP’s objections are groundless. People are protesting that the Politbureau statement says the agreement was annulled without any new agreement and stressing that the two parties should sign a new agreement as Mam Jalal has lost his life and there is no regional presidency anymore. The general opinion is that as this agreement hasn’t been signed, what the KDP wants to do now is not legal.

IMAR AND REFORM COALITION REACTS

The Reform and Imar Coalition made up of Shia groups has reacted to the matter. The Reform and Imar Coalition, made up of Sairun, Nasr, Hiqme and Vataniyya Alliance as well as some Sunnis and the Turkmen Front, convened in Baghdad yesterday to discuss the issue.

In the statement issued after the meeting, the coalition called for a single candidate for the Presidency and called on Kurdistan’s political parties.

The written statement said, “Kurdish partners should combine their stance and put up a single candidate for the Presidency in accordance with national criteria. Otherwise one of the rival candidates will win.”