Coordination Framework in Erbil over presidency deadlock

Shafaq News– Baghdad/ Erbil

A delegation from Iraq’s Shiite Coordination Framework arrived in the Kurdistan Region on Sunday as part of ongoing efforts to break the political deadlock over the election of a new Iraqi president.

Shafaq News correspondent said the delegation includes caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Hadi al-Amiri, and Mohsen al-Mandalawi, alongside a senior political team.

The visit includes meetings in Erbil and Al-Sulaymaniyah with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) head Bafel Talabani, with talks expected to focus primarily on the presidency.

The Iraqi Council of Representatives failed to convene its February 1 session to elect a president. Parliament’s media office said the sitting was postponed until “further notice” due to a lack of quorum, marking the second delay within two weeks.

Earlier, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said no agreement had yet been reached between the KDP and the PUK, confirming that both parties would continue to back their respective candidates, Fuad Hussein for the KDP and Nizar Amedi for the PUK.

Under Iraq’s informal power-sharing arrangement, the presidency is allocated to the Kurdish component and is traditionally contested between the KDP and the PUK, while the premiership is held by a Shiite figure and the speakership of parliament by a Sunni.