Taqaddum signals interest in presidency, stressing it will not clash with ‘Kurdish brothers’

BAGHDAD — The Taqaddum Party is positioning itself for a possible bid for Iraq’s presidency, with senior member Ahmed al-Masari saying the bloc’s electoral weight gives it the right to choose between the speakership and the presidency while maintaining cooperation with Kurdish partners.

In an interview on Al-Rasheed TV, al-Masari said the division of Iraq’s three presidencies is based on political practice rather than law.

Taqaddum’s strong showing in the election, where it secured a major share of Sunni seats, comes as Sunni parties move to consolidate influence through the newly formed National Political Council. The council — announced in Baghdad on Nov. 23 and bringing together Taqaddum, Azm, the Sovereignty Alliance, the National Hasm Alliance and the Jamaheer Party — now represents a combined 75 seats and is presented by its leaders as a platform to restore Sunni political weight in parliament after years of fragmentation.

Since 2003, the presidency has traditionally gone to Kurdish parties through political custom and post-war power-sharing agreements, a practice that has shaped every government cycle. Kurdish leaders continue to view the presidency as a core entitlement under this arrangement and remain keen to retain the post in the upcoming term.

Ahmed al-Masari — a senior figure in the Taqaddum Party, in an interview on Al-Rasheed TV:

The distribution of the three presidencies in the country is based on custom, not something legal or constitutional. The entitlement to the presidency or the speakership belongs to the component itself, and it is the one that decides. The speakership is very important, but at the same time the presidency of the republic is also very important if it is activated. In the end, the matter will be consensual, and we will not upset our Kurdish brothers.

We have become the second-largest component electorally in terms of seats, and we have the right to choose between the presidency and the speakership, while considering the need to satisfy the other partners.

In Taqaddum, our only candidate — whether for the speakership or the presidency — is President al-Halbousi. In the new structure (the National Political Council), I believe size must be taken into account, and Taqaddum is the largest list in terms of weight.

This time, we will push from within the government to achieve our demands and what is agreed upon with the prime minister.

If the presidency remains with our Kurdish brothers, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should go to the Arabs.