A KURDISH LEADER CALLS FOR PATIENCE IN CHOOSING A PRIME MINISTER WHO ENJOYS NATIONAL CONSENSUS
Burhan Sheikh Raouf, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), stressed the necessity of consensus among the various parties and components to resolve the issue of the prime ministership and agree on a candidate who enjoys broad support for this position.
Sheikh Raouf told Al-Maalouma, “The next government must be stable, free from problems, and maintain balanced relations with all parties, both domestically and internationally. Therefore, it is natural for the formation of the government to be delayed, as happened in previous parliamentary sessions.”
He added, “Exceeding constitutional deadlines and delaying the formation of the government is a normal occurrence, as the formation of the previous government was delayed for nine months. However, this is for the benefit of Iraq and to overcome problems and disagreements among the various components.”
He explained that “there is a pressing need to reach agreements among the different components regarding the prime minister, as he is not affiliated with any particular component but will be the president of all Iraqis. This necessitates patience in order to reach a consensus on the selection of the new prime minister.”