Delegations from the two parties held talks for several hours on Monday night, October 1, in Baghdad to discuss a joint candidate for the position of Iraqi President.

The NRT reported that the KDP had offered a few concessions to the PUK in return for the withdrawal of the KDP candidate from the race.

The KDP asked for the position of deputy prime minister, deputy parliament speaker, and a ministry, according to the report. The PUK, however, rejected those proposals.

The KDP then requested that the Kurdish factions to choose a joint candidate, but the PUK also dismissed that suggestion during the meeting.

According to the Iraqi constitution, a candidate for the position should be elected by the Iraqi parliament by the end of Tuesday.

The Iraqi parliament on Monday suspended its meeting, which would have seen an initial vote for the presidency, because it did not achieve quorum.

Only 159 parliamentarians attended the session, missing the necessary threshold by 62. The president must be elected by two-thirds of parliament, meaning that the winning candidate must receive at least 218 votes.

PUK, which has held the position since 2005, has nominated Barham Salih as its candidate. This choice was rejected by KDP, who nominated Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff for the Kurdistan presidency.

Other than Hussein, and Salih, there are five other candidates running for the post: Srwa Abdulwahid, the only female candidate, Umar Barzinji of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and Abdul Karim Ali Abtan of the National Coalition, as well as Sardar Abdullah and Latif Rashid both of whom are running as independents.

The new president will then appoint a prime minister from the largest bloc in the legislature.

A new speaker of parliament was elected on September 15, setting the stage for a new president to be chosen.

Reporter’s code: 50101