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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Continued disputes between Iraq's two largest Kurdish parties will impact the whole country, said the head of the pro-Iran Fatih alliance on Thursday.
Fatih leader Hadi al-Amiri met with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) co-chair Bafel Talabani on Thursday. The meeting came during Talabani’s visit to Baghdad as leader of his party’s delegation. They are lobbying for their presidential candidate Barham Salih.
“Amiri stressed the importance of finding a solution to the dispute between the two sides of the equation in the Kurdistan region, indicating that the continuation and complexity of differences will be reflected in all of Iraq,” read a statement published by Amiri’s office on Telegram.
Amiri’s statement comes as the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) put forth rival candidates for the Iraqi presidency, despite previous calls for Kurdish unity in Baghdad
According to a long-standing customary agreement, the three main leadership positions in the Iraqi government are divided among Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. Whereas Kurds get the presidency, Shiites get the premiership, and Sunnis get the parliamentary speaker. Among Kurds, the PUK has held on to the presidency position since 2005.
This year, the KDP has put forth a candidate, namely Hoshyar Zebari, to run for the Iraqi presidency and challenge PUK’s Barham Salih for the position.
The KDP and PUK for years abided by an agreement, more commonly identified as the strategic agreement, where the PUK would get the Iraqi president of their choice, and the KDP in return would get the presidency of the Kurdistan Region.
Neither side contested the candidates of each other for years, until 2018, where the KDP and for the first time, put forth Fuad Hussein against Salih for the position. However, the Hussein, who is now Iraqi foreign minister, did not make the cut and Salih was chosen as the country’s president.
With the Iraqi parliament deciding to hold its session to elect the president on February 7, the KDP and the PUK have both intensified their efforts to secure the position.
However, the KDP seems to have secured the support from the largest bloc in the parliament led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The PUK is meeting with Amiri, whose party has only won 17 seats.
Fatih leader Hadi al-Amiri met with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) co-chair Bafel Talabani on Thursday. The meeting came during Talabani’s visit to Baghdad as leader of his party’s delegation. They are lobbying for their presidential candidate Barham Salih.
“Amiri stressed the importance of finding a solution to the dispute between the two sides of the equation in the Kurdistan region, indicating that the continuation and complexity of differences will be reflected in all of Iraq,” read a statement published by Amiri’s office on Telegram.
Amiri’s statement comes as the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) put forth rival candidates for the Iraqi presidency, despite previous calls for Kurdish unity in Baghdad
According to a long-standing customary agreement, the three main leadership positions in the Iraqi government are divided among Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. Whereas Kurds get the presidency, Shiites get the premiership, and Sunnis get the parliamentary speaker. Among Kurds, the PUK has held on to the presidency position since 2005.
This year, the KDP has put forth a candidate, namely Hoshyar Zebari, to run for the Iraqi presidency and challenge PUK’s Barham Salih for the position.
The KDP and PUK for years abided by an agreement, more commonly identified as the strategic agreement, where the PUK would get the Iraqi president of their choice, and the KDP in return would get the presidency of the Kurdistan Region.
Neither side contested the candidates of each other for years, until 2018, where the KDP and for the first time, put forth Fuad Hussein against Salih for the position. However, the Hussein, who is now Iraqi foreign minister, did not make the cut and Salih was chosen as the country’s president.
With the Iraqi parliament deciding to hold its session to elect the president on February 7, the KDP and the PUK have both intensified their efforts to secure the position.
However, the KDP seems to have secured the support from the largest bloc in the parliament led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The PUK is meeting with Amiri, whose party has only won 17 seats.
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