Iraq delays presidential vote a second time over KDP–PUK deadlock

Shafaq News– Baghdad

The Iraqi Council of Representatives failed to convene its scheduled February 1 session to elect a president, as the two main Kurdish parties remained divided over naming a single candidate for the post.

According to a brief statement issued by the parliament’s media office, the session was postponed until “further notice” due to a lack of quorum.

Earlier in the day, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani denied that an agreement had been reached between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), confirming that both parties will continue to put forward their respective nominees —Fuad Hussein and Nizar Amedi— to compete in parliament.

Parliament had been set to meet on January 27 for an initial session to elect the president, but the sitting was also postponed after Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi received formal requests from the KDP and the PUK calling for a delay.

Under Iraq’s informal power-sharing arrangement, the presidency is reserved for the Kurdish component and is traditionally contested between the KDP and the PUK, while the premiership is held by a Shiite figure and the speakership of parliament by a Sunni.

Under constitutional timelines, parliament is required to elect a president within one month of its first session, a deadline that expired on January 28, although debate has emerged over whether the period includes official holidays, an issue discussed in consultations with Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council.