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Iraq could soon have its first Kurdish president,
following behind the scenes talks between leading
Shia and Iraqi government figures and Kurdish
officials.
Though Kurds stress any deal will have to wait until
the election results are known, the two main Kurdish
leaders, Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, said
yesterday that they would demand one of the two top
offices of state, prime minister or president.
With the prime minister's position likely to be
filled by either the incumbent Ayad Allawi, or by an
as yet unknown candidate from the Shia list, the
less powerful presidency could go to Mr Talabani,
veteran leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,
who heads the joint Kurdish list for the national
assembly. The post of speaker of the transitional
assembly would go to a Sunni Arab, perhaps Adnan
Pachachi.
"We have received some proposals from Shia
politicians and others," said Mr Talabani. "In
return for our backing the idea of the prime
minister being a Shia, they are saying they will
back a Kurd as president. But we are waiting to see
who will be the prime minister, what will his
policies be, and how he will look at the Kurdish
interests."
Mr Talabani said a Kurdish president "could help to
unite the nation and play an important role
overseeing the drafting of the new constitution and
bringing the Sunni Arabs into the political
process". About 95% of Iraq's 4-5 million Kurds are
Sunni Muslim.
He added: "The main principles we want to see
enshrined are democracy, a proper federal system,
human rights, women's rights, and the appropriate
distance between state and religion."
Kurdish leaders were angered last summer when the
prime ministership and the presidency went to a Shia
Arab and a Sunni Arab.
Mr Barzani, who leads the rival Kurdistan Democratic
Party, said yesterday: "I think this time the Kurds
must get one of these posts."
Mr Talabani and Mr Barzani run rival administrations
in the Kurdish self-rule area in the north. They
have put aside past bitterness to create a joint
ticket - which also includes Arab, Turkomen and
Christian candidates - for both the national
elections and the vote for the Kurdish regional
parliament. The KDP and the PUK will compete with
each other only in the provincial elections.
Kurds make up about 20% of Iraq's population and
were expected to vote in large numbers. Analysts say
the Kurdish list could gain anything from 50-80
seats in the 275-seat transitional assembly and is
likely to hold the balance of power.
The main task of the new parliament will be to form
a new government and draft a permanent constitution.
A referendum on the constitution and second general
election are then due to be held by the end of the
year.
Under a controversial clause in the interim
constitution, the new constitution could be rejected
if two-thirds of the electorate vote against it in
three of Iraq's 18 provinces. The Kurdistan region
has three provinces within its borders.
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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