MPs elect Nechirvan Idris Mustafa Barzani as President of the Kurdistan Region

28th May 2019 - Today Kurdistan Parliament's MPs elected Nechirvan Idris Mustafa Barzani to the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region. Of the 81 MPs present at today's sitting, 68 MPs voted for him to become the next President of the Region.

MPs of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), of which Mr. Barzani is a member, and of Gorran (the Change Movement), as well as MPs from several smaller parties, gave him their vote. The other four candidates failed to receive any votes. Mr. Barzani is currently Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region. 

Thirty MPs of the 111-seat legislature did not attend the sitting: the 21 Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) MPs, eight New Generation Movement MPs, and one other. This is despite a power-sharing agreement between the PUK, KDP and Gorran.