ERBIL, Iraq
Political parties in Iraq’s Kurdish region will meet Tuesday evening to discuss yesterday’s decision by the shura (consultative) council of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to extend KRG President Masoud Barzani’s term for two more years.
On Monday, the council – set up in 2008 to resolve administrative disputes – announced the extension of Barzani’s term for another two years, according to the KRG’s Justice Ministry.
The move, however, was not endorsed by the KRG’s parliament, which remains sharply divided on the issue.
Tuesday’s scheduled meeting comes at the request of Barzani, whose term as president is set to expire on Thursday.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), of which the 68-year-old Barzani is the leader, will try to convince rival parties – particularly the Gorran party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Islamic Society Party (Komala Islam) – to approve the extension of Barzani’s mandate.
These three parties, along with some others, want to see the KRG government convert from a presidential to a parliamentary system. In return for supporting the extension of Barzani’s term, they want the presidency reduced to a symbolic position, as is the case with Iraq’s government.
On Monday, in a challenge to Barzani and his KDP, MPs from political parties that want to see Barzani’s powers reduced requested that parliament convene an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing dispute.
In response, Cafer Eminki, deputy assembly speaker and a member of the KDP’s political bureau, said the Wednesday session would not be constitutional without the unanimous approval of all members of parliament – in which the KDP holds the most number of seats.
According to sources close to the issue, if the presidency crisis is resolved at Tuesday’s meeting, which was requested by Barzani, Wednesday’s parliamentary session will be called off.
In hopes of mediating the dispute, Iraqi President Fuad Masum visited the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdish region on Monday, where he met with both PUK leader Jalal Talabani and Gorran leader Nawshirwan Mustafa.
He is also expected to meet separately with both Barzani and Mustafa.
The KRG’s presidential polls had initially been slated for Thursday (August 20), the same day on which Barzani’s term will expire, with Barzani intending to run for a third term in office.
The KRG government, however, which is currently shared between the KDP and the PUK, postponed the polls – citing the KRG’s precarious economic situation and regional instability – and declared that Barzani would remain at the helm for another two years.
Barzani was elected president by the KRG parliament in 2005. He was reelected in 2009 by popular vote – the KRG’s first direct presidential election. When his second term expired in 2013, parliament extended his mandate until August 20 of this year.
The KRG’s 111-seat parliament is currently shared between Barzani’s KDP (38 seats), Gorran (24 seats), the PUK (18), Yekgirt (10 seats) and Komela Islam (six seats). The assembly’s remaining 15 seats are held by various other small parties.
