ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said it rejects “the manner” in which Nizar Amedi was elected as Iraq’s president during Saturday’s parliamentary session.
“We reject that manner of election, and we do not recognize anyone designated in that manner as a representative of the Kurdistan majority and will not deal with them,” the party said in a statement.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Amedi was sworn in after securing 227 votes in a second round, which required a simple majority.
The KDP said the process was “conducted in a manner that was outside the approved by-laws of the Council,” adding that the speakership set the meeting agenda “without adhering to the Council's by-laws.”
Sherwan Dubardani, a lawmaker from the KDP bloc, told Rudaw earlier on Saturday that “the session is fundamentally illegal because, according to Article 37 of the Parliament’s by-laws, the speaker and both deputy speakers must approve the session’s agenda.” But Farhad Atroushi, a deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament from the KDP, rejected the session.
Amedi and Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) candidate Muthanna Ameen advanced to a runoff after none of the candidates secured a two-thirds majority in the first round.