KDP bloc announces indefinite boycott of Iraq’s parliament

BAGHDAD — The Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc announced Saturday it will boycott Iraq’s parliament indefinitely, escalating its dispute over the election of Nizar Amedi as president and what it described as violations of the constitution and disregard for the principles of partnership, balance and consensus in the political process.

“Protecting the constitutional rights of the people of Kurdistan and preserving the legitimacy of the political process comes above all interests,” the bloc said, adding it will continue the boycott “until further notice” and “will not allow the violation of the rights of the people of Kurdistan.”

The announcement extends the KDP’s earlier one-session boycott of April 11, when parliament elected Amedi — the PUK’s candidate — in a second round of voting after no candidate secured the required two-thirds majority in the first round. Amedi received 227 votes in the runoff against 15 for Muthanna Amin of the Kurdistan Islamic Union, with 249 lawmakers participating. In the first round, the KDP’s own candidate, outgoing Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, received 16 votes.

The KDP political bureau said at the time it rejected the process as having taken place “outside the parliament’s approved internal procedures” and that it did not consider Amedi “a representative of the Kurdish majority.” It described the presidency as “an entitlement of the people of Kurdistan, not a single party,” and said it would not engage with him.

The KDP holds 27 seats in the 329-member Council of Representatives and secured more than 1 million votes in the 2025 elections, making it the largest Kurdish party in the federal legislature. An indefinite boycott by a bloc of that size complicates government formation at a moment when President Amedi has 15 days from taking office to task the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government.