BAGHDAD,— Iraq’s parliament elected Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as the country’s new president on Saturday, filling a largely ceremonial post following legislative elections held last November.
The session was boycotted by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by the Barzani family.
Amedi, 58, previously served as environment minister and has led the political office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Baghdad since 2024.
Iraq must now select a prime minister, a far more consequential and politically sensitive appointment.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned in January that Washington would pull its support for Iraq, a major oil-producing nation, if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was tapped to lead a new cabinet.
A coalition of Shi’ite parliamentary blocs holding a majority has nominated Maliki, who is backed by Iran, defying Trump’s warnings.
The nomination alarmed Washington, which along with Israel fought a six-week war with Iran before a ceasefire was announced Tuesday.
Disagreements between the KDP and the PUK over the presidency had delayed formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Both parties put forward candidates, and their inability to settle on a single nominee created a political deadlock.
The KDP, which already holds both the Kurdistan Region Presidency and the Kurdistan Region Prime Ministership, was also seeking the federal presidency, a post that has traditionally been held by the PUK.
Iraq held legislative elections in early November. Parliament elected its speaker and two deputies in late December.
Under the Iraqi constitution, lawmakers are required to elect a president within 30 days of forming parliamentary leadership, in a session that needs a two-thirds quorum of 220 out of 329 members.
Iraq has long balanced ties between Iran and the United States, its two closest partners.
Under the country’s sectarian power-sharing arrangement, the prime minister must be a Shi’ite Muslim, the parliamentary speaker a Sunni Muslim, and the president a Kurd.
KDP Refuses to Recognize Iraq Presidential Vote
The KDP said it rejects the process by which Nizar Amedi was elected Iraq’s president during Saturday’s parliamentary session.
In a statement on Sunday, the party said it does not accept “the manner” of the vote and does not recognize anyone chosen through that process as representing the Kurdish majority.
(With files from Reuters | Agencies)
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