Iraq's parliament sets date for selecting president from Kurdish ranks
The selection of Iraqi president have been delayed because of the sharp division between the two main Kurdish parties over which candidate should fill the role reserved for their group.
Iraqi political parties are divided sharply over selecting the new president. The role is reserved for a Kurd, who has usually come from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
However, PUK's rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), is allied with largest Sunni party (Taqaddom, led by Muhammad Halbousi) and the largest Shiite party (Sadrists, led by Muqtada Sadr). On the other side, the Coordination Framework, consisting of mostly Iran-backed groups, are supporting a second term for the current president, Barham Saleh, who is affiliated with the PUK.
The parliament has set March 26 as the date to elect the President. 40 candidates are registered for the post, including Barham Saleh.
Non-Kurdish parties are waiting for the end of the crisis between the two Kurdish parties. The delay caused by this division entails another delay for the Shiites in agreeing on the upcoming prime minister.
