Iraqi Parliament To Elect New President

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Facts

  • Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi's office said on Tuesday that the country's parliament will meet this Thursday to elect a new president for the fourth time this year in an attempt to end months of political deadlock.
  • According to the power-sharing system in place to prevent sectarian conflict, Iraq's president must be of Kurdish origin and is chosen by ruling Kurdish parties - the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
  • For over a year, the KDP and the PUK have failed to agree on a compromise candidate, with the latter supporting another term for incumbent president Barham Salih while the former backs Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Interior Minister Reber Ahmed.
  • This surprising move comes as the UN mission warned that Iraq was "running out of time," urging political factions to end the stalemate that has paralyzed the country and caused deadly clashes in Baghdad.
  • Iraq still hasn't formed a new government since last year's election, leaving caretaker PM Mustafa al-Kadhemi in charge as rival Shia parties fight for influence.
  • Supporters of prominent cleric Moqtada Sadr want the parliament to be dissolved and new elections held, while the pro-Iran Coordination Framework Alliance wants a new government to be formed before new elections.

Sources: Al Jazeera, National News, Amwaj, Al Arabiya, Shafaq, and france24.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Kurd Press. The KDP and the PUK should resolve their differences and find a compromise candidate as this dispute over the largely honorific post of Iraq's president has dragged the country into the ongoing political stalemate. By allying with opposing sides in the Iraqi parliament, they've only promoted divisions within the country, to the detriment of the Kurdish people.
  • Narrative B, as provided by K24. Kurdish parties have been able to achieve a better understanding through dialogue, but there's no reason for factions to give up candidacy for the country's presidential position. It's not the Kurds who are creating this political impasse in Iraq, but internal disputes within the Shia that have been preventing Iraq from forming a new government.