Iraq begins efforts to elect president – details
The Iraqi Council of Representatives announced the names of candidates for the post of President of the Republic to vote on in a session today, Thursday, amidst numerous political tensions and crises in Iraq over the past period. The number of candidates who met the conditions of candidacy reached 33, after excluding 26 candidates for various reasons, including the lack of political experience, the lack of a university degree, the inclusion of candidates in accountability and justice procedures, and the age requirement. The list of eligible candidates includes prominent names such as current President Barham Salih and his rival for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, current Minister of the Interior of the Kurdistan Region, Rebar Ahmed Khalid, and Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin and former Minister of Water Resources, Abdullatif Rashid.
Complexity of the scene
“We make it clear to everyone that the PUK’s official candidate for president is Barham Salih,” PUK spokesman Soran Jamal Taher said in a statement.
The spokesman added, “We want to serve everyone and be the protector of the constitution and national rights through the office of the president of the republic,” while the coordination framework revealed adherence to its candidate for the presidency of the Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, and its possession of enough numbers to form the largest parliamentary bloc entitled to this position.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Wazen, a professor of international relations in Iraq, said that the scene in the Iraqi parliament is expected to not meet the quorum of the session. He added that it is expected that the postponement of the session will be announced for another day, but the Iraqi scene will remain complicated in light of the current political tensions.
The Iraqi professor of international relations added that there are no Kurdish political agreements yet on a specific candidate, but the political forces here have a major role to play in order to face the challenges in Iraq through coordination and agreement on a candidate in order to protect the country from the crises and the massive chaos that occurred throughout the past period.
Quorum crisis
Lina Mazloum, an Iraqi journalist, said the election of the president is an important step towards stabilizing the political scene to some extent, especially since there are many differences regarding the choice of prime minister. She said the current situation in Iraq is politically confused and needs to avoid political crises in order to protect the country from falling into the dark tunnel.
The Iraqi writer added that there is still a disagreement between the Sadrist bloc and the coordinating framework, but it is likely that Barham Salih will be chosen as the president of the country, or that the quorum in the parliament will not be complete.
