ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Region’s political forces on Monday announced their candidates for the Iraqi presidency, with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) fielding Fuad Hussein, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) running with Nizar Amedi.

The deadline to submit candidates for the Iraqi presidency expired on Monday at 3:00 PM (local time).

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest Kurdish bloc in the Iraqi parliament, nominated current Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to become Iraq's next president.

Hussein has a lengthy history in Iraqi politics. Before starting his tenure as foreign minister in 2020, he was the country’s finance minister from 2018 to 2020. He was also the chief of staff to former Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani between 2005 and 2017.

Born in 1946 in Khanaqin, Hussein moved to Baghdad in 1967, where he graduated from Baghdad University with a degree in English Literature in 1971, before joining the KDP's ranks.

In addition to Hussein, the party has also fielded Nawzad Hadi, according to Shakhawan Abdullah, head of the KDP bloc at the Iraqi parliament. Hadi, 65, is a senior KDP member who served as the Governor of Erbil between 2004 and 2019.

The PUK on the other hand has fielded Former Environment Minister Nizar Amedi as its sole candidate in the race for president, party spokesperson Karwan Gaznayi announced via a Facebook post.

“Nizar Amedi is the only official candidate of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan for the post of the president of Iraq,” wrote Gaznayi.

Amedi, a senior member of the PUK, served as Iraq's environment minister in Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's current cabinet, before his resignation in late 2024 to run the party's Baghdad office. PUK's Halo Askari replaced Amedi as minister.

The PUK, who has continuously held the position since 2005, was previously reported to have four candidates for the post, including Amedi, Aso Faridoon, Khalid Shwani, and incumbent President Abdul Latif Rashid. It is unclear whether the three men will withdraw their applications or run independently.

Separately, Kurdish opposition blocs named the Kurdistan Islamic Union's (KIU) Muthanna Amin to challenge the ruling parties' candidates, with Ali Hama Saleh, leader of the Halwest (Stance) Movement voicing his support for Amin, stating: “He is our candidate and we support him.”

Prominent Kurdish politician Hikmat Muhammad Karim, more widely known as Mala Bakhtiyar, has also submitted his application to run as an independent candidate for the Iraqi presidency.

“I will not become a problem or a hassle between the KDP and PUK, if they reach a joint candidate,” he told The New Region.

Mala Bakhtiyar, 71, has previosuly held the office of the chief of the Executive Bureau of the PUK, and on paper still serves as the co-chair of the party's Supreme Political Council despite heightening disputes with the PUK’s leadership in recent years.

The Iraqi parliament convened for the first time on Monday last week, setting off the 30-day countdown to elect a president for the country, a position traditionally reserved for Kurds.

If the Kurdish forces fail to agree on a singlr nominee, the decision will be left to a parliamentary vote.

At least 81 candidates, including Kurds, Arabs, and Christians, are set to compete for the Iraqi presidency, according to information obtained by The New Region. The parliament needs to elect a new president by no later than January 28.

Since 2005, the Iraqi presidency has always been held by a member of the PUK, despite the KDP consistently outperforming its rival in both Iraqi and Kurdistani elections.

Updated at 16:08 with Mala Bakhtiyar