ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region’s five main parties met behind closed doors for five hours Sunday, emerging to say they are discussing two options to resolve an impasse over an extension to Masoud Barzani’s term as president, his chief of staff said.
Fuad Hussein told reporters that the options are a public referendum, or settling the issue in parliament.
“In today’s meeting three options were given by the political parties on how the president should be elected, including through a referendum among the people of Kurdistan, a two-thirds vote in the parliament or the normal mechanism of 50+1,” or majority vote, Hussein told reporters.
He said the issue should be resolved at a September 6 meeting.
“In case we do not reach any consensus, we can turn to an early election to resolve the question,” he added. “Before we decide on the option of the early election, we hope parties agree on a mechanism on Sunday to end meetings,” Hussein told journalists.
He said a decision was postponed for next week so that “the parties can study options that were discussed at the meeting and can hold separate meetings before they come back on the meeting on Sunday.”
In response to a question by Rudaw’s Hevidar Ahmed, who asked whether Barzani’s term would be for two or four years, Hussein said: “we have not discussed this point. What really mattered for us was that the political parties called for a balance of authority and power among the Kurdistan regional presidency, the Kurdistan parliament and the government (Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG).”
In response to another question by a reporter who claimed minorities in Kurdistan are dissatisfied because they feel they are not getting enough of a voice in what is a national question, Hussein said everyone was free to speak.
“The door is open for all the Kurdistan parties, including elements of minorities. Unfortunately, even the Turkmen and Christian elements have many political parties with different political backgrounds,” Hussein said.
The issue of the presidency has polarized the Kurdish enclave’s politics and people. Those favoring Barzani staying on – who has been president since 2005 and whose term was extended for two years in 2013 – argue that, with Kurdistan at war with the Islamic State group (ISIS) for more than a year, it is a poor time to hold elections.
