Leaders of the Coordination Framework attend a previous meeting in Baghdad
PM Sudani to visit Kurdistan Region to discuss presidency deadlock
BAGHDAD — A senior delegation from Iraq’s Coordination Framework is set to visit the Kurdistan Region on Monday to discuss the stalled vote on electing a president with Kurdish leaders in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, the bloc’s secretary-general said Sunday.
Abbas Radi said in a statement that “a high-level delegation from the Coordination Framework will head on Monday to the Kurdistan Region to meet Kurdish leaders in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah,” adding that the delegation “will include Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri and Head of the Al-Asas Coalition Mohsen al-Mandalawi.”
Radi said the visit follows a decision taken at the Coordination Framework’s most recent meeting. “The visit comes based on a decision by the Coordination Framework in its last meeting to create understanding between our brothers in the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to resolve the presidency by bringing viewpoints closer,” he said.
He added that the effort is in line with constitutional requirements. The talks aim to settle the presidential post “in accordance with the Coordination Framework’s approach on the necessity of adhering to constitutional timelines,” Radi said.
The move comes as Iraq’s Council of Representatives on Sunday postponed a scheduled session to elect the president, without announcing a new date. In a brief statement, parliament’s media department said “the Council of Representatives has postponed the convening of its session.”
Parliament has already delayed the vote multiple times. Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi said earlier he received formal requests from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to delay a previous session “to allow more time for understanding and agreement between the two parties.”
Nineteen candidates have been approved to run for the largely ceremonial post, including incumbent President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, former foreign minister Fuad Hussein and senior Patriotic Union of Kurdistan figure Nizar Amedi. The Kurdistan Democratic Party has nominated Hussein.
Under Article 72 of Iraq’s constitution, parliament must elect a president within 30 days of its first session, a deadline that has already passed.