Asos Ali, a member of the PUK leadership council, told Rudaw that Salih was selected in a secret ballot, beating two other contenders, Latif Rashif and Mohammed Sabir.
“Barham Salih had sent a letter to the PUK politburo, and at the beginning of the meeting it was read,” Ali said. “And later, in the meeting, he announced his return, in the name of CDJ, to the PUK and announced he would continue within the party.”
“In the meeting, Salih became the PUK’s sole candidate for the post of president with 26 votes while Latif Rashid got one and Mohammed Sabir 15 votes.”
Although a former PUK prime minister of the Kurdistan Region, Salih broke away from the party in 2017 to found the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ).
Salih submitted his letter of resignation to the CDJ, which accepted it along with those of an undisclosed number of other members, the party said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“We hope the political status and personality of Dr. Barham serves the interests of the people of Kurdistan, especially in this critical time for Iraq and Kurdistan,” the party stated.
The party said it will not fold with the loss of its leader, but will continue “to serve the people and promote reforms,” with a focus on Kurdish unity and overcoming the economic crisis. It will hold a party-wide meeting in the future to review its internal governance.
CDJ, which has two seats in the Iraqi parliament, has not officially endorsed Salih or any other candidate for the presidency.
However the party tweeted the following:
“Kurds need a representative in Baghdad who has strong ties with regional and international countries,” accompanied by archived photos of Barham Salih meeting international leaders like former US President George W. Bush and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
کورد پێویستی بە نوێنەرێکە لە بەغدا پەیوەندیەکی بەهێزی لەگەڵ وڵاتانی ئیقلیمی و جیهان هەبێت
— Hawpaimani (@Hawpaimani) September 19, 2018
سەرۆک کۆمارێکی بەهێز
نوێنەرێکی بەتوانا و بەهێز
کوردستانێکی ئاوەدان و بەهێز @BarhamSalih pic.twitter.com/pDT7Qxke07
It has long been rumored Salih would consider a return to the PUK in some capacity in exchange for the presidential nomination.
The position of Iraqi president has consistently been held by a member of the PUK since the removal of Saddam Hussein – twice by Jalal Talabani and once by Fuad Masum.
As the biggest Kurdish party, however, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) officials say they have a right to field a candidate of their own.
“Barham Salih is not a joint candidate of ours and the PUK,” said Fazil Mirani, secretary general of the KDP’s politburo.
“KDP has its own presidential candidate,” he said.
Updated at 5:11 pm
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