Shiite ruling bloc gives Kurds 48 hours to agree on Iraq president

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) has given the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) 48 hours to agree on a presidential candidate, lawmaker Dhuha Al-Bahadli told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Al-Bahadli, an MP from Al-Nahj Al-Watani bloc within the CF, said a delegation from the Framework, parliament’s largest bloc, failed to secure an agreement during talks yesterday with Kurdish leaders in Erbil and Al-Sulaymaniyah. However, she noted that negotiations are ongoing, and a parliamentary session is expected on February 5.

The delegation, which included caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, met KDP leader Masoud Barzani in Erbil and PUK leader Bafel Talabani in Al-Sulaymaniyah. The two parties remain divided, with the KDP backing Fuad Hussein and the PUK insisting on Nizar Amedi.

Parliament on February 1 had also granted Kurdish blocs one week to resolve the impasse and proceed with a vote.

Kurdish parties, Al-Bahadli clarified, are blaming the delay on US objections to former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki, the Framework’s nominee for the premiership, despite constitutional procedures requiring parliament to elect a president before naming a prime minister-designate.

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

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