Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani visited the Kurdistan Region on Monday in an effort to break a deadlock between the two major Kurdish parties that has delayed the election of the country's president.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan have each put forward a nominee, forcing parliament to twice postpone sessions to elect a president as political blocs divided over which one to support. A two-thirds majority is needed to elect the president.
Under a long-standing agreement among political parties, Iraq's president must be a Kurd, the prime minister a Shiite, and the speaker of parliament a Sunni.
The PUK has put forward Nizar Amedi, a former minister of environment, for the presidency, while the KDP supports Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
The deadlock is holding up the formation of a government following November's general election as the constitution requires that the president formally lay the responsibility of forming a cabinet on a prime ministerial candidate.
The first stage of the process, the election of the Parliament Speaker, was completed on December 29 as all parties agreed on Sunni politician Haibat Al Halbousi for the post.
The Co-ordination Framework, the largest bloc in parliament comprising Shiite parties, has nominated former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki to head the next government, but this has been opposed by the US, an important ally, and some Iraqi parties.
Mr Al Sudani travelled to the Kurdistan Region with members of the bloc including its secretary general, Abbas Radi; Hadi Al Amiri, leader of the Badr Organisation; and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al Mandalawi.
He first met KDP leader Masoud Barzani in the regional capital Erbil, before travelling to Sulaymaniyah, where he with PUK leader Bafel Talabani.
Mr Al Sudani and Mr Barzani discussed constitutional deadlines, including the election of the president, in order to “continue forming the new government”, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
The meeting also touched on the “developments in the region and Syria and the importance of unifying Iraq's national political stance to strengthen the country's position and national interests,” it said.
A Shiite politician told The National that the delegation was seeking “to convince KDP to withdraw its nominee and to seek the Kurds' support and mediation with US” for Mr Al Maliki's nomination.
The election of the Parliament Speaker set off a 30-day constitutional deadline to elect the president, but these deadlines have often been missed because of disagreements between rival factions. Mr Al Sudani took office a full year after the October 2021 elections.
