ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Saturday slammed the Iraqi presidency election in the parliament, calling the decision to proceed with the process without a consensus “a violation” of the legislature’s bylaws.

The KDP, the State of Law Coalition, and the Hoquq Movement boycotted Saturday's decisive session, citing continued disputes and the absence of a unified position on who should assume the key role.

During the session, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate Nizar Amedi was elected for the top post.

The statement rejected the mechanism by which Amedi was elected for the presidency, a post traditionally reserved for Kurds, saying his nomination had been pushed forward by a single Kurdish party and other Iraqi components and was not a unanimous Kurdish pick.

“The candidate nominated for the presidency was chosen outside the Kurdish framework, even though this position is the right of the people of Kurdistan, not of any particular party. This individual was nominated by a specific party and endorsed by parties from other Iraqi components,” said the KDP.

Iraq held parliamentary elections on November 11. The results displayed a significant victory for the KDP, which secured 27 seats and became the first Iraqi and Kurdish political party in history to surpass over one million votes. The PUK ranked as the second Kurdish party at 18 seats.

Iraq’s components have had a power-sharing arrangement since the fall of Saddam Hussein regime, whereby the Shiites get the prime minister position, the Sunnis get the speaker of parliament post, and Kurds get the Iraqi presidency.

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

Since the November elections, the KDP has repeatedly stressed that the presidency is not reserved for any single party and should be decided based on electoral entitlements. The two Kurdish ruling parties failed to reach a unanimous candidate for the presidency after months of negotiations following the elections.

“We reject this election process and do not consider the person chosen in this manner to represent the Kurdish majority, nor will we deal with him,” the KDP asserted, noting that they have called back their representatives in the Iraqi government and parliament to Erbil “to assess the situation and hold consultations.”