SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi Parliament has met quorum on Thursday to hold its session dedicated to electing a new President for the country.
According to Information Esta Media Network has obtained so far at least 269 MPs have joined the chamber during which soon it will vote for a new President.
Under the power-sharing system established in the Iraqi constitution to prevent sectarian conflict, Iraq’s Prime Minister is Shiite and the President is Kurd, meanwhile, its speaker of parliament is Sunni.
The primary forerunners for the post are the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) candidate incumbent Barham Salih and, Latif Rashid.
Rashid was a former water resources minister supported the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) – after their candidate Rebar Ahmad announced his resignation from the race on Thursday.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in a statement on Wednesday announced that Barham Salih is their “official” nominee for the position of Iraqi President.
“We want to make it clear for all sides that the PUK nominee for the President Position is Barham Salih,” Spokesperson of the PUK Soran Jamal Tahir in a statement said.
“Through this position, we seek to serve all sides and safeguard the constitution as well as national rights,” the statement added.
Rumors circulated that the PUK has withdrawn Barham Salih but it refused in the above-mentioned statement.
