ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) bloc in the Iraqi parliament on Saturday announced boycotting all future parliament sessions indefinitely, in light of the legislature’s decision to proceed with the Iraqi presidential election despite the absence of a national consensus.

The bloc said it has decided to boycott parliament sessions “until further notice,” based on “the directive and guidance” of its leadership, citing “clear violations of the Constitution and laws witnessed in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, and the explicit disregard for the principles of partnership, balance, and consensus.”

Last week, the KDP, the State of Law Coalition and the Hoquq Movement boycotted the session where Iraq’s new President was elected, citing continued disputes and the absence of a unified position on who should assume the key role.

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

The KDP at the time 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.

“We reaffirm that safeguarding the constitutional rights of the people of Kurdistan and preserving the legitimacy of the political process take precedence over all considerations and interests,” the KDP added.

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 the 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.