ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Several prominent Iraqi and Kurdish political parties on Sunday announced that they would be boycotting the upcoming parliamentary session dedicated to electing Iraq’s new president, making quorum unlikely to be reached. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will not attend Monday’s parliament session for the “requirements of the public interest” and with the “aim” to continue the ongoing dialogue between the political blocs, the party said in a statement. The KDP’s statement followed the Sunni Alliance of Sovereignty, consisting of the Taqadum Coalition and Azm Alliance’s, announcement that they will boycott the session. The Sadrist bloc and the kingmakers of Iraq’s October 10 election will also not attend the legislature’s meeting. The recent escalation in the Iraqi political scene comes hours after the Council of Ministers announced the meeting’s agenda and Iraq’s top court suspension of Zebari’s candidacy for the presidency race. According to a long-standing customary agreement, the three main leadership positions in the Iraqi government are divided among Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. The presidency lies with the Kurds and the position has been held by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) since 2005. The KDP was expected to hold an advantage over the PUK, which has re-elected Barham Salih for the post, for the presidency race given their alliance with the Sadrist Movement, the largest parliamentary bloc. In a turn of events on Friday, the leader of the bloc Muqtada al-Sadr called on members of his bloc not to vote for Hoshyar Zebari, the KDP candidate for the Iraqi presidency, if he does not meet the necessary requirements to fulfill the position. A quorum of two-thirds of the total number of parliament members is needed for the legislative body to convene and elect the new president, according to the Iraqi constitution. However, the quorum is not likely to be met with the largest parties refusing to attend the meeting and the president is unlikely to be elected. The current president, Barham Salih, will remain in his position until the parliament agrees on a new one.
