Baghdad: Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani affirmed that the Presidency of the Republic of Iraq is a constitutional entitlement of the Kurdish people, stressing the necessity of reforming the selection mechanism to ensure authentic representation.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, in a letter addressed to Kurdish political forces, Barzani outlined three proposed mechanisms for nominating a presidential candidate: nomination through the Kurdistan Parliament; consensus among all Kurdish political parties; or selection by Kurdish parliamentary blocs in Baghdad. He also emphasized that the nominee may be an independent figure or a member of a party other than the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) or the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), provided the candidate enjoys broad Kurdish consensus.

The letter stated that all Kurdish parties must recognize that the presidency is the prerogative of the Kurdish people. To ensure that the president genuinely represents Kurdistan, the current election mechanism must be revised, and no political party should treat the position as its exclusive entitlement.

Barzani further explained that the nomination process should follow one of the proposed mechanisms: either the Kurdistan Parliament nominates a candidate to represent the Kurds for the presidency; Kurdish political parties collectively agree on a nominee; or Kurdish members and blocs in the Iraqi Parliament select a candidate. Regardless of political affiliation, the key criterion is that the nominee commands Kurdish consensus and faithfully represents the people of Kurdistan in assuming the presidency of the Republic of Iraq.