In light of all these tensions, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, and the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Bafel Talabani, met Thursday in the town of Salah al-Din, near Erbil, in an attempt that observers see as the last chance for consensus between them and to turn the page on the raging dispute over the presidency of Iraq, which did not It will be officially announced.
Observers believe that the criticality of the situation will push the two main Kurdish parties, the Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, to search for compromise solutions between them in light of the escalation of their struggle for the position and the negative repercussions it may have on the Iraqi Kurds, and their role in the Iraqi national and political equations, even within the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Including upsetting the delicate balance of power between the two parties there.
Commenting on the meeting of the Kurdish summit between the leaders of the two parties, the writer and political analyst, Tariq Jawhar, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia: “It will most likely be based on wisdom and logic between the two main Kurdish parties, and in line with the higher interests of the Kurdish people in Iraq, so that it will be mitigated The intensity of political tension between the two parties in their competition for the position of President of the Republic of Iraq.
There is nothing impossible in politics, and it is not unlikely that an agreement will be reached between Barzani and Talabani, as Jawhar expects, adding: “And opening a new page so that alliance and joint action replace competition and opposition, which threatens to weaken the Kurdish role not only in Baghdad but even at the regional and international levels, In addition to the risks of the repercussions of this competition and interdependence on the situation in the Kurdistan region, its democratic experience and its unity.
While an informed Kurdish political source, who refused to reveal his name, revealed, in an interview with Sky News Arabia, that: “It seems that there is a conviction that has crystallized on both sides, after long stubbornness and frustration, that this fierce battle between them in Baghdad will rebound negatively on them, and that there will be no victor.” On the contrary, it will gain even the prestige of the candidate who will win the presidency of Iraq, which has become more like a reason for the division and estrangement among the Kurds of Iraq.”
He added: “There are many scenarios and ideas that were put to the table of Barzani and Talabani and they exchanged, perhaps the most prominent of which is the idea of alternating the presidency of Iraq between them in each electoral cycle, meaning that the Patriotic Union will occupy it, and the next time it will be occupied by the Kurdistan Democratic Party and supported by the Union also at the time, and that this agreement applies. The position of the presidency of the region as well, meaning that the first sovereign positions in Erbil and Baghdad are exchanged between the two parties every 4 years.
The Kurdish political source expects that this formula will be agreed upon between Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani. Iraq’s Kurdistan region”.
While a source close to the talks confirmed, in an interview with Sky News Arabia, that: “The atmosphere of the meeting was positive and constructive, and after exchanging a number of options and solutions to get out of the impasse, the President of the National Union, Bafel Talabani, asked to consult with the leadership of his party about Barzani’s proposals, And who asked once again to replace the Union’s candidate, the current president, Barham Salih, with another person, and then the Kurdistan Democratic Party will withdraw its candidate, and support the Union’s candidate as a single Kurdish candidate.
The source added: “It can be said that the agreement will be reached in the end, and that the union will change its candidate, paving the way for resolving this chronic contentious knot, the untangling of which represents an opportunity to take off the train of the Iraqi political process, which is now suspended.”
In this context, observers believe that the Kurds’ success, after meeting Barzani and Talabani, in overcoming the complex of the conflict over the presidency between them, will contribute to achieving a major breakthrough in the political blockage that is afflicting Iraq, and will pave the way for the implementation of the rest of the constitutional entitlements on time, foremost of which is the entitlement to assign a new prime minister. to form the next Iraqi government.
According to the custom prevailing in Iraq after 2003, the position of the President of Iraq goes to the Kurds, the Prime Minister to the Shiites, and the Speaker of Parliament to the Sunnis.
