Judicial Council: Barzani to remain in office

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Consultative Council decided on Monday that Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani will stay in his position with his current powers until the next election.

“The decree is to pass the Kurdistan region crisis, since the political parties did not reach a consensus which requires satisfaction from all parties, while, legally only four days remain for the period for the region's president, Massoud Barzani," read an announcement released by the consultative council late Monday. Founded in 2008, the council was founded to consider administrative disputes in the region.

Kurdistan region political parties previously said Monday they will hold a large-scale meeting in the Kurdistan region capital Erbil on Tuesday at 10 am to reach a consensus on whether to extend the Barzani presidency.

Kawa Mahmood, a Kurdish MP from the Kurdistan Communist Party, told Rudaw on Monday “the political parties of the Kurdistan region are going to hold a meeting at the Saad Abdulla auditorium in Erbil, aiming to resolve the issue of the Kurdistan regional presidency.”

According to Mahmood, the main five Kurdish political parties, including Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Change Movement, the Kurdistan Islamic Union and the Kurdistan Islamic League, will gather alongside other smaller parties.