President Barzani: The Iraqi Presidency Is the Kurds’ Entitlement and Should Not Be Monopolized by Any Party

ARK News.. Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani affirmed that the position of President of the Republic of Iraq is the rightful share of the Kurds, stressing the need to change the mechanism for selecting the president so that no party considers the post its exclusive domain.

Below is the full text of President Masoud Barzani’s message, issued on Monday, 29 December 2025:

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, With regard to the position of President of the Republic of Iraq, there must be a firm conviction among all Kurdish parties that this post belongs to the Kurds. In order for the President of the Republic to truly represent the people of Kurdistan, the mechanism for electing the president must be changed, and no party should henceforth regard this position as its private property or exclusive right.

Accordingly, the mechanism should take one of the following forms: either the Kurdistan Parliament designates a person as the Kurdish representative for the presidency; or all Kurdish parties come together and agree on a single candidate; or Kurdish deputies and blocs in the Iraqi Council of Representatives select a person for the post.

It is not necessary for the chosen candidate to belong to the Kurdistan Democratic Party or the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan; the individual may come from another party or be an independent figure. What matters most is that this person enjoys Kurdish consensus and genuinely represents the people of Kurdistan in assuming the office of President of the Republic of Iraq.

Masoud Barzani

29 December 2025


Masoud Barzani
Kurdistan
Iraqi Presidency

71