MESOP FOCUS : Kurdistan president nominates Barham Salih to assume the presidency of Iraq

July 8, 2014 – shafaaq-com – ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— Former spokesman for Kurdistan Alliance, Muayad Tayeb announced that the President of Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani will announce on Tuesday the name of the Kurdish candidate for the presidency of Iraq republic, after receiving authorization from all the Kurdish blocs, pointing out that the Deputy Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK, Barham Salih is the favorite fortunate to win this position.

Tayeb told the Middle East newspaper, the secretary of Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP, Fadhil Mirani emphasized that the Kurdish political forces have authorized Barzani to announce the name of the candidate, which is Barham Salih, who had to compete with the leader of the PUK and the governor of Kirkuk, Najmaldin Karim, stressing that Salih is the front-runner in the competition for the job.

Tayeb explained that the Kurdish political forces have authorized Barzani to announce the Kurdish position represented that the Kurds in various powers and parties have decided, once and for all, not to participate in the government of Nuri al-Maliki presidency, adding that “Maliki’s attempts inducing Kurdish parties “, as they were among (state of law coalition) have “completely failed.”

Al-Tayeb considered that the Declaration is a message to other parties that the candidate is ready to take on the Kurdish presidency, according to these contexts, “in the forefront is replacing al-Maliki.”Meanwhile the former MP, Mahdi Haji, of the KDP party stated on Monday that the Change (Gorran) bloc has the biggest chance for getting Iraq’s president post. He told Iraqi News “Based on the latest negotiations among the Kurdish sides over nominating a Kurdish figure for the Iraqi president post, the Gorran bloc has the biggest chance to get this post because it came second in the elections where the KDP got the Speaker’s post in Kurdistan Region and the Change bloc must get the President Post.”

Last May an Iraqi Diplomat said that Hoshyar Zebari, the current Iraqi Foreign Minister is the consensus candidate for the presidency of the country, replacing Jalal Talabani, and it was confirmed by Dr. Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Kurdistani Alliance,www.Ekurd.net main body of the Kurds in Iraqi Parliament, that Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani has announced Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari as the candidate of the Kurds for Iraq’s presidency.

The PUK stated last May that KDP is not allowed to run Iraq’s presidency, something the Kurds have claimed as their right in the next government in Iraq. As KDP runs Kurdistan Region Presidency it cannot claim for Iraq presidency too, the chief of PUK central council Adel Murad told al-Musama daily.The oldest MP in the Iraqi parliament, Mehdi al-Hafeth has decided to postpone the session, which was scheduled yesterday until after the holiday, because of the “lack of understandings,” which was considered by State of law coalition as bowing to political pressure, which pushed Hanan al-Fatlawi, MP of the coalition to announce filing a lawsuit against Hafith, for violating the Constitution, she said. But Hafith returned and changed his mind and announced that the next meeting of the parliament