ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Region's ruling parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have not yet reached an agreement on a candidate for Iraq’s presidency ahead of Sunday’s Iraqi parliamentary session set to see a vote on the matter, an informed source told The New Region, noting that the sitting may likely be postponed on account of failure to meet quorum.

The Iraqi parliament postponed a Tuesday session to vote on the country’s next president after the Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties requested more time to reach an agreement. The vote is now scheduled for Sunday.

The two Kurdish parties are expected to propose a candidate for Iraq’s presidency in the parliament’s Sunday session, although a knowledgable source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The New Region on Saturday that “so far we have not reached an agreement on the presidency position.”

"Tomorrow, the PUK and KDP will compete for the presidency position with two candidates," the source added.

"If the PUK gives up the ministerial positions in Baghdad, then the KDP will withdraw its candidate," the source said, adding that "in return, PUK insists on its demands in the new [Kurdistan Region] cabinet, requesting 50 percent of actual positions."

A high-level KDP source on Friday denied reports that the party was willing to offer the Kurdistan Region interior minister post to the PUK in exchange for backing of its candidate, with a high-level KDP official telling The New Region that "there has been no discussion or proposal of that kind whatsoever, and we completely reject the allegations."

The source also indicated that Sunday’s parliamentary session may not meet the legal quorum and could be postponed, giving the PUK and KDP more time to reach an agreement on the presidency.

The position, traditionally reserved for Kurds, is constitutionally required to be settled by the parliament within 30 days of the new legislature's first session, in this case January 28.

The KDP has nominated current Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, while the PUK has fielded former environment minister and head of its Baghdad office Nizar Amedi. The incumbent President Abdul Latif Rashid, a senior PUK member, is running independently. Lawmaker Muthanna Amin, meanwhile, is representing Kurdish opposition parties in the race.

Traditionally, the KDP and the PUK have run the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) side by side, despite the KDP consistently outperforming its rival in both regional and federal elections.

The New Region has learned that the KDP has offered the PUK several top posts during their negotiations over the past year, including the parliamentary speakership, but the PUK has continued to make “unreasonable” demands, according to well-informed sources from the KDP.

Earlier in January, the leaders of the PUK and the New Generation Movement (NGM) announced they had reached preliminary agreements to form a united front to challenge the KDP and to aim to form the Region’s next government.

The KDP emerged as the clear victor from the October 2024 Kurdistan parliamentary elections, securing 39 out of 100 seats in the legislature. The PUK with 23 and the NGM at 15 have 38 seats combined, meaning that even if their coalition were to proceed, they would still be one seat shy of the KDP.