MESOP NEWS : Massoud Barzani waves to boycott Kurdistan’s five-party meeting

Shafaaq com – 2 Sept 2015 – ERBIL-Hewler, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— One of the heads of parties delegations that participated in a meeting with Iraq’s Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP leader, Massoud Barzani and the Kurdish parties and components, announced that Barzani waved not to participate in the next meeting of the main parties next Sunday if the meeting didn’t expand to include everyone.

Barzani, whose term as Iraq’s Kurdistan President ended on August 20 but continues to function as leader. – The head of the Turkmen Front bloc in the Kurdistan’s parliament , Aidan Maaroof, said to KDP website that Barzani revealed during the meeting Tuesday his rejection to reduce the number of quota seats allocated to the Kurdish components in parliament, pointing out that if all parties in the meetings didn’t participate , he wont participate either in the meeting.

Maaroof said that Barzani would not only boycott the meetings if all parties didn’t participate, but he will “fight” for them, noting that the international support and cooperation to Kurdistan region would not happen without coexistence that prevails among the people of all its components. Maaroof added that next Sunday’s meeting will be the last meeting, pointing out that therefore the parties did not reach an agreement, Barzani will hold an expanded meeting brings together all the parties. – He said the Parties’ participation in the meeting yesterday was with the need to elect a president of the region by the people directly. The five main parties in Kurdistan Region have held a series of meetings to discuss the crisis of the presidency of the region without a deal pleases all of us, as agreed to hold another meeting on Sunday that may settle the matter, according to observers.Political discussions have been taken place for some time about whether or not to renew his mandate. Barzani has led Kurdistan region as president from 2005 for two executive terms and his last term was extended in 2013 by ruling KDP and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for two more years on the condition that he can no longer run as president. Meanwhile, many political parties believe that the President must be elected through a Parliamentary system.Political risk analyst Kirk Sowell earlier this month “If it were a stable democratic system, they would just vote him (Barzani) out of office. But it’s not,”

Iraqi Kurdistan parliament speaker, Yousif Mohammed Sadiq, says that Massoud Barzani has lost legitimacy. “We have been in a legal vacuum in the Kurdistan Region since Aug. 19 with regard to the issue of the presidency,” Sadiq told Al-Monitor. Sadiq said. “This will be against the laws in Kurdistan. Law No. 19 passed in 2013 … clearly says the president’s term ends on Aug. 19 and cannot be extended,” Sadiq added.