Although the sixth parliamentary term of Iraq has not yet held its first session, the main political components of Iraq have still not agreed on distributing the sovereign posts. The Shiite blocs have not settled on a candidate for prime minister, the Sunni blocs are divided over the candidate for speaker of parliament, and the Kurds—especially the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)—are engaged in ongoing disputes over the post of President of the Republic.

The Federal Supreme Judicial Council has set the timetable for electing the presidencies, stating that after the 14th of this month, the Iraqi parliament must hold its first session within 15 days to elect the speaker of parliament and his deputies. However, as in previous terms, if the parties do not agree on the posts, the first parliamentary session may be held and then left open until the parties reach an agreement on the candidates.

According to Article (72) of the Iraqi Constitution, after the first session and the election of the parliamentary presidency, the Council of Representatives must, within (30 days), elect a new President of the Republic by a two-thirds majority—meaning (220 votes) out of the total (329 seats).

If no presidential candidate receives a two-thirds majority in the first round of voting, then, according to Article 70 of the Constitution, in the second round, the candidate who receives the highest number of votes will become President of the Republic.

Since 2005 until now, the post of President of the Republic has, as a political convention, been held by the Kurds, and within the Kurdish house by the PUK. However, this is the second presidential term in which the KDP says that while the post is the Kurds’ right, it is not necessarily the PUK’s exclusive right, and therefore it will nominate its own candidate.

At the meeting of the KDP Central Committee, two delegations were formed: one for forming the Kurdistan Regional Government and another for forming the Iraqi federal government. In other words, the KDP is focusing on Baghdad’s sovereign posts and believes it is the strongest force in Kurdistan and holds the majority of Kurdish seats. Meanwhile, in recent days, the PUK has sent a delegation to Baghdad, hoping that the presidency will remain with it as before.

At present, the Iraqi presidency is disputed on one hand between the PUK and the KDP, and on the other hand, several individuals are eyeing the post.

• Bafel Talabani: So far, Bafel Talabani has not officially announced his candidacy for the presidency, but his name has been discussed in political circles. The focus of criticism is that he does not speak Arabic, although this is not a legal or constitutional requirement for presidential candidates. According to follow-ups, Bafel Talabani holds a bachelor’s degree and has no issue in that regard. For this reason, he does not want to enter a political battle unless he is fully confident that he will be the consensus candidate and win. According to follow-ups, the opinions of Iraqi leaders and political factions were sought; some of them did not support him, while others said that the post belongs to the Kurds and that an agreement should be reached with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

  Requirements for a presidential candidate
  (He must be born in Iraq and to an Iraqi mother and father, be at least 40 years old, possess full legal competence, have a good reputation and sufficient experience, and must not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude) — Article (68) of the Constitution.

• If Bafel Talabani does not run, the name being discussed and expected is Nizar Amidi to become the PUK’s official candidate for the post of President of the Republic. He spent nearly 10 years working alongside Mam Jalal in the presidency, and is currently a member of the PUK Political Bureau and head of its Political Bureau office in Baghdad.

• Latif Rashid, the President of the Republic of Iraq, intends to run for a second term.

• Faraydoun Abdulqader intends to nominate himself for the post of President of the Republic of Iraq. Information indicates that he has visited Baghdad and held meetings with some Iraqi leaders, and in Kurdistan, he has met with Barzani and announced his intention to run.

• The names of several veteran and newer PUK leaders are also being mentioned for the post.

• The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has formed a negotiation delegation for Iraq’s sovereign posts, is also eyeing the position. It is possible that if the PUK relinquishes certain posts in the Kurdistan Region, the KDP may, in return, step back from the post of President of the Republic of Iraq.

  The KDP’s potential candidates are Dr. Fuad Hussein, Rebar Ahmed, and Fazel Mirani.

  Resolving the presidency between the PUK and the KDP depends on several scenarios:

• If the KDP and PUK reach an agreement on the posts, it is expected that the KDP will agree to give the presidency to the PUK. In that case, both parties would support a single candidate—a PUK candidate approved by the KDP.

• If they fail to reach an agreement, the KDP will nominate its own independent candidate and lobby Iraqi political forces, similar to 2018 when Fuad Hussein was the KDP candidate against Barham Salih, and Barham Salih ultimately won. In 2021, Hoshyar Zebari was nominated but later disqualified by a Federal Court decision; the KDP then nominated Rebar Ahmed, before withdrawing him in favor of Latif Rashid and against Barham Salih.

• If no agreement is reached, the KDP may support a candidate from outside its party—meaning a PUK candidate, but unofficially, against the PUK’s official candidate.