PUK divisions delay Iraq’s Kurdish-held presidency decision

Shafaq News– Baghdad

Iraq’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which has traditionally held the presidency, has yet to agree on a nominee amid internal divisions, a source said on Sunday.

The source told Shafaq News that party discussions remain focused on incumbent President Abdul Latif Rashid, former Environment Minister Nizar Amedi, and Justice Minister Khalid Shwani, with competition intensifying between Amedi and Shwani.

PUK member Jamal Shukr revealed that his party is expected to announce its candidate in the coming days following consultations with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Shiite Coordination Framework, parliament’s largest bloc, and the Sunni-led National Political Council.

Read more: Can a Kurdish framework emerge? Iraq’s new political alignments test the Kurdish house

The talks come as the KDP challenges the PUK’s longstanding claim to the post, citing its stronger electoral showing in November. Previous standoffs between the two Kurdish parties delayed the presidential vote for nearly a year in 2021–2022.

Under Iraq’s constitution, parliament must elect a president within 30 days of its first session, held on December 29. The elected president then tasks the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government, a process that often extends for months.

Since 2003, Iraq’s political system has operated under an informal power-sharing arrangement assigning the premiership to Shiites, the presidency to Kurds, and the speakership to Sunnis.

Read more: Iraq begins 90-day countdown to form government as political fault lines re-emerge