Iraqi parliament postpones session to elect Iraq’s president for 2nd time

Iraq’s parliament postponed a planned session on Sunday to elect the country’s president for the second time, amid ongoing disagreements between the nation’s main Kurdish political blocs, state news agency INA reported, without giving any further details.

Shortly before the session, Masrour Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq, said that no agreement had been reached over the presidential post, citing differences between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan over the candidate for the post.

A similar session was postponed last Tuesday over the ongoing disagreement between the two Kurdish parties.

On Thursday, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council stressed the importance of adhering to constitutional timelines to complete procedures for appointing the president and prime minister, rejecting any external interference in the process.

Under Iraq’s power-sharing system, the presidency is held by a Kurd, the prime minister is a Shiite and the speaker of parliament is a Sunni.

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