PUK bloc: Negotiations continue with KDP on Iraq's Presidential post

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) bloc in the Iraqi parliament announced on Sunday the continuation of negotiations with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) regarding Iraq's Presidential post, stressing that the PUK is still committed to nominating Dr. Barham Salih to take over the position.

Harem Kamal Agha, head of the PUK bloc, said in an exclusive statement to PUKmedia that negotiations are ongoing between the PUK and the KDP regarding resolving the Presidential post.

"No official agreement has been achieved so far, but the PUK is still sticking to nominating Dr. Barham Salih to take over the position," he said.

"After Eid al-Adha, either both parties agree on one candidate or re-experiment the 2018 event, with each party going to the parliament hall with their candidate," he added.

Both the PUK and the KDP are major parties in the Iraqi political arena. According to a previous agreement between both parties, the PUK gets the Iraqi Presidency post while the KDP gets the Kurdistan Region's presidential post.

The Iraqi presidential position has been held by the PUK since 2005. However, the situation changed in 2018 when both parties nominated separate candidates for the same position. The PUK’s Barham Salih won the majority of parliament votes. 

More than 6 months after the early elections of Iraq, the country has only been able to elect the Parliament Presidency. The political parties have failed to reach an agreement on electing the new president and forming the government. 



PUKmedia