Iraq Elects Nizar Amedi as New President After Months of Deadlock
Iraq's parliament elected Nizar Amedi, a PUK candidate from Duhok, as the country's sixth president, but the session was boycotted by the KDP and key Shia blocs, raising questions about the new president's mandate.
The Vote
On Saturday, April 11, 2026, the Iraqi parliament convened to elect a president. In the first round, 16 candidates competed. Amedi received 208 votes but fell short of the required two-thirds majority (220). In the second round, he won with 227 votes by simple majority. His rival, Musanna Amin Nadir, received just 15. Of 329 MPs, only 223 attended, the KDP (26 seats), the State of Law Coalition (29 seats), and the Rule of Law Movement boycotted.
Who Is Nizar Amedi?
Born in 1968 in Duhok province, Amedi is a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He served as Environment Minister (2022-2024) and headed the presidential office under three consecutive presidents, Fuad Masum, Barham Salih, and Abdul Latif Rashid. He ran the PUK's Baghdad office.
Why Does the Presidency Go to a Kurd?
This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Iraqi politics. Many assume it is written in the constitution. It is not. Iraq's constitution actually prohibits sectarianism.
The Muhasasa System
After the 2003 U.S. invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq's diverse society needed a power-sharing arrangement. The system that emerged, called "al-muhasasa al-taifiya" (sectarian apportionment), divides the top positions by ethnicity and sect:
- President → Kurdish
- Prime Minister (the most powerful position) → Shia Arab
- Speaker of Parliament → Sunni Arab
This system was developed at exile opposition conferences in London before 2003 and institutionalized when Paul Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority created a 25-member Governing Council on ethnic-sectarian lines. It has governed Iraqi politics ever since, not as law, but as an unwritten political convention that all major blocs have adhered to.
Why Always PUK?
Every Iraqi president since 2005 has been PUK-affiliated: Jalal Talabani (2005-2014), Fuad Masum (2014-2018), Barham Salih (2018-2022), Abdul Latif Rashid (2022-2026), and now Nizar Amedi. This happened because of a tacit deal: the KDP controlled the Kurdistan Region presidency and premiership, so the largely ceremonial Baghdad presidency went to PUK as compensation. The KDP accepted this for two decades.
What Changed This Time
For the first time, the KDP seriously challenged PUK's monopoly on the presidency. KDP argued the position belongs to "all Kurds, not one party" and nominated Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. PUK insisted on its historical claim. Negotiations in February 2026 failed. KDP demanded the presidency and prime ministry be resolved as a single package; when this was rejected, it boycotted the April 11 session.
KDP's statement: "Holding a presidential election session without returning to the foundations of consensus and partnership is a clear disrespect to national partnership and a serious violation of constitutional understandings."
What Happens Next
Amedi has 15 days to task the Coordination Framework's prime minister candidate. If that candidate is Nouri al-Maliki, which the U.S. strongly opposes, Iraq faces another prolonged crisis.