PM:06:47:14/02/2022
4160 View
+
-
SULAIMANI — The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) nominated the Kurdistan
Regional Government’s (KRG) Minister of Interior, Rebar Ahmed, for the Iraqi presidency, a source from the party told NRT on Monday (February 14).
The party’s spokesperson, Mahmood Mohammed, later confirmed Ahmed’s
nomination.
The KDP may end up choosing two alternative nominees to the presidency in case
one is excluded from the candidacy, the source stated.
Tension between the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has been
ongoing over the position of Iraq’s president.
The PUK previously announced its only nominee for the presidency is Barham
Salih, the outgoing President of Iraq.
The KDP’s first nominee to the position, Hoshyar Zebari, was barred from the
candidacy after a decision from the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court on Sunday
following the hearing over a complaint filed against the nominee by MPs Ali
Turki Jesum, Dilan Ghafur Salih, Karwan Ali Yarwais and Karim Shakur.
Previously, Zebari’s candidacy was suspended on February 6 pending a court
ruling due to corruption charges in 2016, when he was the Iraqi Minister of
Finance.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives said on Tuesday candidates for
president can once again be nominated due to the expiration of the constitutional
period for the presidential election.
Some MPs have complained about the council’s decision, saying it goes
against the constitution.
(NRT Digital Media)