Nechirvan Barzani elected President of Iraqi Kurdistan Region
(IraqiNews) The Parliament of Kurdistan, on Tuesday, elected Nechirvan Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Barzani won the votes of the majority of the Parliament members.
Barzani, who had been serving as Iraqi Kurdistan’s Prime Minister, won 68 votes from the 81 Parliament members present.
A number of leaders, ministers, heads of parties and ambassadors congratulated Barzani, while affirmed they have confidence in his ability to succeed and strengthen relations during his presidency.
Meanwhile, the election of Barzanias president of the Iraqi Kurdistan headlines the Arab newspapers.
It is noteworthy that Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomous region located in northern Iraq, and its capital is Erbil. It is also called the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by the Iraqi constitution, and Southern Kurdistan by Kurds.
Kurds generally consider it to be one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Rojava or Western Kurdistan), and northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan).
An independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan was held in September 2017. The preliminary results showed the majority of votes cast in favor of independence; however, the federal government of Iraq rejected the referendum’s legality. The new constitution of Iraq defines the Kurdistan Region as a federal entity of the country.