An unwritten custom has been established, since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, for the distribution of positions according to the components, so that the position of prime minister is for the Shiite component, the republic is for the Kurdish component, and the presidency of parliament is for the Sunnis.
Sunni parties do not hide, this time, their desire to obtain the presidency of the republic, as a kind of change in the status quo, and a breach of political taboos, despite the fact that the position of the presidency is honorary without broad powers, such as the presidencies of Parliament and the government.
first chance
The Progress Alliance, headed by Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, is the official sponsor of this track, due to a number of considerations.
A prominent leader in the coalition said: “Our desire to obtain the position of the Presidency of the Republic comes to bring about a change and a turmoil in the political situation, to get out of the old contexts, in which everyone colluded in a previous period, which Iraq went through, and it is a first opportunity to break all previous agreements, and to end This custom, down to the possibility of a Kurd as prime minister, and a Shiite as the speaker of parliament, and this is the right of everyone.”
The leader, who preferred to hide his name, added to “Sky News Arabia” that “the position of the presidency is indeed honorary, but it has good powers, and it is the country’s gateway to foreign relations, and the Arab incubator, but we saw coldness from the former presidents of the republic, towards this thing, which is What contributed to deepening Iraq’s isolation from its neighbors, its regional environment, and specifically the Arab world, which makes us think about making a change that is in everyone’s interest.
The Sunni Arabs assumed the presidency of the republic only once, after 2003, when Sheikh Ghazi Ajil Al-Yawar took over the position during the transitional government of Iyad Allawi, so that there was an agreement among everyone to take over positions according to the component division.
The Kurdish parties expressed their refusal to make any shift in key positions, and affirmed their desire to maintain the current format, which portends differences that may be deep, after the elections, if the Kurdish and Sunni blocs adhere to this desire.
Kurdish disputes
The current president, Barham Salih, has a desire to obtain a second term, as he said in a previous television interview: “My first task is to conduct the elections in peace, and I look forward to obtaining a second term, as I have a lot to offer in this position.”
But the divisions within the Kurdish parties represent a major challenge for them, which the Sunni blocs may exploit to conclude a position exchange deal.
During the 2018 elections, the two Kurdish parties, the KDP and the Patriotic Union, did not agree to nominate one person for this position. The KDP nominated the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fouad Hussein, while the Patriotic Union nominated Barham Salih to choose the House of Representatives, President Saleh.
At the time, this dispute raised questions about the nature of the Kurdish people’s representation, if the parties do not agree on the candidate, which is likely to happen after the current elections, in the event that the Sunni component does not obtain this position.
The leader of the PUK, Mahmoud Khoshnaw, responds to this, saying: “It is natural that there is a dispute between the two Kurdish parties, as is the case with the rest of the parties. He is a representative of the Kurdish people, although there is a complete lack of consensus within the Kurdish parties regarding him.”
Khoshnaw added, in a statement to “Sky News Arabia”, that “the issue is not related to obtaining the position, as far as managing it in a balanced manner, without trenching or pivoting, which is what we seek to have good management for this important position.”
Despite the announcement by Sunni leaders that there is a movement to obtain the presidency of the republic, observers of the Iraqi situation see the difficulty of achieving this, due to the complexities on which the political process was built in the country, as well as the unpreparedness of the atmosphere and political climate to bring about this change.
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