Iraq blocs move to pick next president
Shiite Coordination Framework and Kurdish leaders hold talks as pressure grows to fill top constitutional posts
BAGHDAD, Iraq (MNTV) — Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework and Kurdish political leaders have begun talks to agree on the country’s next president, as pressure mounts to complete the government formation process following parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani led a delegation from the Coordination Framework to Erbil on Monday, where they met Kurdish officials to discuss nominations for both the presidency and the premiership.
The delegation was received by Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani at Erbil International Airport before holding meetings with leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), according to local media reports.
The discussions come amid growing political urgency to select a new president, despite continued disagreements between the KDP and PUK over a unified Kurdish nominee.
Talks are also taking place as efforts continue to nominate Iraq’s next prime minister, following reported U.S. opposition to former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Coordination Framework’s proposed candidate.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on November 11, and the newly elected parliament convened on December 29 to elect its speaker and two deputy speakers.
Under Iraq’s constitution, the president must be elected within 30 days of the first parliamentary session. Once in office, the president has 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government.
Since 2006, Iraq’s power-sharing system has allocated the presidency to a Kurd, the parliamentary speakership to a Sunni Arab, and the premiership to a Shiite Arab.
Both the KDP and the PUK have nominated candidates for the presidency, but their failure to agree on a single name has contributed to an ongoing political impasse.
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