Shakhawan Abdullah, the head of the KDP bloc at the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw that they have nominated the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein for the Iraqi presidency. Hussein failed a similar bid against the PUK’s candidate in 2018.
The PUK, which has held the position for at least two decades, has nominated Nizar Amedi, former Iraqi environment minister, as their sole candidate for the largely ceremonial position, party spokesperson Karwan Gaznayi told Rudaw.
The announcements came after both powerful Kurdish parties met in Baghdad earlier in the day to discuss Kurdish unity in the federal parliament, but KDP lawmaker Sherwan Dubardani told Rudaw that they did not discuss the position.
The registration window for the position opened last week and closed on Monday. Around 45 people have officially submitted their files to become candidates, Rudaw has learned.
Under Iraq’s constitution, the president must be elected within 30 days of the first parliamentary session, which convened on December 29.
According to Iraq’s informal power-sharing system established after 2003, the parliament speakership is reserved for Sunni Arabs, the premiership for Shiites, and the presidency for Kurds.
Updated at 3:28 pm with the announcement of the KDP candidate