Alwaght- Weeks after announcement of parliamentary elections results in Iraq, the country has still not formed a new cabinet and the fate of two out of three key posts remains undetermined.
While the talks at the heart of the capital Baghdad over reaching a name for the prime minister post among the Shiite factions are spirited, in Kurdistan region, the two key parties of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are debating their options for the president post.
In the Iraqi constitution, the Kurds hold the president post, the Shiites the prime minister post, and the Kurds the speaker of parliament post, and naturally the first step to determining these three posts should start from inter-faction negotiations. After first session of new parliament is held, the parliament should name the president after 30 days. For his part, the president should designate within 15 days a figure who is agreed upon by the parliament majority.
Last week, Iraq's parliament elected its speaker and two aide, setting a three-day deadline for political blocs to nominate a president. This step is critical because the president is constitutionally tasked with nominating a prime minister for parliamentary approval. However, a serious political impasse within the Kurdish leadership now threatens to derail the entire government formation process and add significant complications.
The core issue lies in the failure of Iraq's two main Kurdish parties to agree on a unified candidate for the presidency. Despite the deadline pressure, no substantial progress has been made between the KDP and the PUK.
The PUK is digging in, insisting on adherence to a longstanding, unwritten political agreement that has traditionally granted it the presidency of Iraq in exchange for the KDP holding the presidency of the Kurdistan Region. The party asserts the presidency is its rightful share. The KDP, however, is challenging this decades-old power-sharing arrangement. Pointing to its stronger electoral performance, having secured 33 seats in the recent federal elections compared to the PUK's 18, the party argues the candidate should either be determined by the party with the most seats or be settled through a new, broader negotiation.
It is noteworthy that in recent parliamentary elections, the KDP collectively secured 27 seats and the PUK 18 seats.
Later in 2025, the KDP leader Masoud Barzani called on altering the president election mechanism, proposing three choices: first, Kurdistan regional parliament names a choice, All Kurdish parties agree on a choice, or the Kurdish blocs and the broader parliament of Iraq name a candidate for the post. Barzani held that the most important option is a Kurdish consensus and that the president represents the Kurds in Baghdad and be affiliated with no specific Kurdish party.
Political experts warn that this attempt to rebuild the rules of the game is backfiring, complicating negotiations rather than simplifying them. The dispute is no longer merely about names; it has escalated into a fundamental conflict over "breaking the political custom" that has governed Kurdish power distribution for two decades. Any shift in this delicate equation, analysts note, requires a comprehensive re-evaluation of governing positions within the Kurdistan region itself, which is by no means a easy job.
Sessions for decision-making
The Kurdistan region’s two main political parties have held separate meetings in recent days in the provinces of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.
The KDP, led by Masoud Barzani and attended by his deputies Nechirvan Barzani and Masrour Barzani, convened in Erbil to discuss the formation of the federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the president post.
The party is reportedly weighing figures such as Rebar Ahmed, the KRG's interior minister, and Fuad Hussein, the Iraqi foreign minister.
According to Shafaq News, the PUK, in a meeting chaired by its leader Bafel Talabani, reviewed the names of leading candidates, particularly Nizar Imadi and Khaled Shwani. Meanwhile, Salam al-Zubaidi, spokesperson for the Nasr Coalition, part of the Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF) told Rudaw news on Thursday that the PUK had proposed Nizar Imadi, Iraq’s former environment minister, as a potential presidential candidate during talks with the ruling parliamentary faction the SCF.
Following the two meetings, a broader gathering involving senior leaders from both parties is expected to take place in an effort to reach a political consensus and agree on a single candidate to represent the Kurdish bloc. Failure to reach an agreement could delay the election of a president in parliament and further deepen the political crisis.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, two sources from the KDP’s Central Committee and Political Bureau told Rudaw that one option under discussion is for the KDP not to nominate a candidate of its own, instead asking the PUK to put forward several names, from which the KDP would endorse one. In return, the KDP is seeking to accelerate the process of forming the Kurdistan region’s tenth cabinet. Rudaw quoted a PUK official as saying the party has not yet taken a position on the KDP’s proposal.
The Kurdistan region’s long-delayed parliamentary elections were finally held in October 2024, with the KDP winning 39 of the 100 seats and the PUK securing 23. As no party achieved a majority, negotiations to form a government began but stalled after several months due to disagreements over governance mechanisms and the distribution of key positions.
SCF's determining role
While the outlook for settlement of inter-Kurdish disputes look dim, the SCF as the leading government maker is pressing the two Kurdish parties for a faster consensus over a candidate. The bloc holds a critical role in a Kurdish consensus, one that will determine the path of government formation in Baghdad and prevent a new political crisis in the country.
Prolonged uncertainty and delays in forming a new government risk further destabilizing Iraq’s political landscape, particularly in light of the country’s ongoing security and economic challenges.
In recent years, the fight against corruption and opposition to the quota-based allocation of state positions have become central demands of public opinion. Against this backdrop, the recent behavior of some Iraqi citizens, who have registered in unprecedented numbers to run for the presidency despite knowing they have virtually no chance of winning, reflects growing frustration with political bargaining and party infighting over the division of power. From the perspective of protesting citizens, these practices reinforce monopolization, undermine meritocracy, deepen political paralysis, and perpetuate ineffective governance.
The Kurds themselves faced significant confusion even during the election of the second deputy speaker of parliament, as new Kurdish forces, most notably the Homeland Position Movement, joined the race and challenged the traditional duopoly of the KDP and the PUK.
This development prompted the KDP to withdraw its initial nominee and replace him with a second candidate who ultimately won. However, the episode heightened concerns within the two traditional parties about the broader implications for future political equations within the Kurdistan region and the added complexity it could bring to the presidential election. In this context, the Homeland Position Movement has issued a statement naming its preferred candidate for Iraq’s presidency, Muthanna Amin.
Meanwhile, some analysts believe that the push by small parties to upset the traditional power equation in the autonomous Kurdish region can motivate the two traditional heavyweights in Kurdistan to move closer. An example is the PUK's positive vote to the KDP's nominee for the second deputy speaker of parliament.
Finally, while the continuation of disputes between the KDP and the PUK over a presidential nominee could, through Shiite mediation and the trade of concessions over the formation of the KRG, lead to a renewed partnership and help break the political deadlock in Kurdistan, prolonged discord between the two in the long run could lead to reshaping of Kurdish alliances.
