Iraq parliament elects Kurd as president, paving way for new government

Fuad Masum will succeed the ailing Jalal Talabani as federal president after willing the most votes.

BAGHDAD // The Kurdish politician Fouad Massoum was named Iraq’s new president yesterday as the country’s leaders struggle to form a new government.

Mr Massoum, 76, one of the founders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party led by the previous president, Jalal Talabani, accepted the position after winning two-thirds of the votes, noting the “huge security, political and economic tasks” facing the government.

Last month’s rapid advance of the Islamic State extremist group, which captured Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul, has plunged the country into its worst crisis since the withdrawal of US troops in 2011 and inflamed already-existing tensions between sectarian and political rivals.

The vote for president, a largely ceremonial post, is widely viewed as a step towards achieving consensus among political rivals, seen as necessary for tackling the deteriorating security crisis.

Mr Massoum is considered a soft-spoken moderate, known for keeping good relations with Sunni and Shiite politicians.

He was born in what is now the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil. He entered politics when he was 16 years old, taking part in Kurdish-organised demonstrations. He joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1964.

From 1973 to 1975 he was the Cairo representative of Kurdish rebels battling the Arab-dominated government in Baghdad, then went on to establish the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan with six Kurdish politicians, including Mr Talabani.

The next step in Iraq’s political transition will be for Mr Massoum, who has already officially assumed the title of president, to select a candidate for prime minister to try to form a new government.

Incumbent prime minister Nouri Al Maliki’s bloc won the most seats in April elections, but he has faced mounting pressure to step aside, with critics accusing him of monopolising power and alienating the country’s Sunni and Kurdish minorities, contributing to the latest unrest.

Mr Al Maliki has however vowed to remain in the post he has held since 2006.

The UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Baghdad on Thursday, urging legislators to “find a common ground” so they can address the crisis sparked by the rapid advance of the Islamic State and allied Sunni militants across much of northern and western Iraq last month.

Mr Ban said Iraq is facing an “existential threat”, but one that could be overcome if it forms a “thoroughly inclusive government.”

Under an unofficial agreement dating back to the 2003 US-led invasion, the presidency is held by a Kurd while the prime minister is Shiite and the parliament speaker is Sunni.

Mr Al Maliki said he is committed to quickly forming a government.

“Despite the fact that we have problems ... we are moving at a confident pace to implement the mechanisms of the democratic work,” he said.

* Associated Press