Iraqi Parliament agenda omits presidential vote

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s parliament will convene Sunday without addressing the stalled presidential election, according to the official agenda released Thursday by the legislature’s media office, prolonging a months-long impasse over the post.

Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing arrangement, the presidency is traditionally held by a Kurd, the prime ministership by a Shiite Muslim, and the speakership by a Sunni Arab. The constitution requires parliament to elect a president within 30 days of its first session —a deadline that expired on January 28.

Previous attempts to elect a president have failed due to disagreements between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the two main Kurdish parties, which have not agreed on a joint candidate, repeatedly preventing the quorum required for a vote.

Read more: Three months of parliament paralysis: Divisions and pressure expose Iraq’s fragile system