Barham Salih, a veteran of the Iraqi political scene, was nominated by one of Iraqi Kurdistan’s leading political parties to run for president.
If confirmed, it will be his second term.
Iraq’s political system is divided among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political parties.
Top positions such as the presidency are reserved for a nomination from one of the two main Kurdish parties, while Shiites get the prime minister’s post and Sunnis get the parliamentary speaker's position.
“We state our full endorsement for the current Iraqi President to run for a second term," the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said.
The party's nomination has held the position of presidency since 2005.
Iraqi Kurdistan is divided both geographically and politically by two political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which is led by the Barzani family and the PUK led by the Talabani family.
These zones solidified after a short civil war between the two sides in 1994.
They have had a long-standing agreement whereby the PUK nominates the Iraqi president of its choice and the KDP gets the presidency of Kurdistan's regional government.
But after the Iraq elections in 2018, the KDP put forth a candidate and challenged Mr Salih's nomination.
The party last week marked Hoshyar Zebari as its nominee for the presidency in response to the PUK’s candidate.
Mr Zebari was Iraq's finance minister but was removed from office after a vote of no confidence over alleged corruption and misuse of public funds.
He was later cleared of the charges.
In response, the PUK said the "KDP has taken steps independently and made agreements with some political parties without any regards to the will of Kurdish parties and Kurdish unity".
Who is Barham Salih?
Mr Salih became the ninth president of Iraq in October 2018 when Parliament elected him with an overwhelming majority.
He has held several high-ranking positions in Baghdad's central government.
He served as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs and the head of the parliamentary economic committee from 2005 to 2009.
Mr Salih was also the planning minister in the Iraqi transitional government and in 2004 held the role of deputy prime minister in Iraq’s interim government, before the country's first official elections in 2005, after the end of the Baath regime.
The Kurdish leadership expected Mr Salih to head the Kurdistan electoral slate and he was designated to form the sixth Kurdish government. He then became the prime minister of the Kurdistan regional government from 2009 to 2011.
He was also the prime minister of the KRG in Sulaymaniyah in 2001 for three years.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
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WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
