Iraqi parliament sets new session to elect president amid splits

Baghdad [Iraq], February 1: Iraq's parliament is due to meet again on Sunday to elect the country's new president, days after the assembly failed to pick a head of state amid reported divisions over a candidate for the largely ceremonial post.
The parliament has scheduled Sunday for a session to elect the president, the official state news agency INA reported without details.
On Tuesday, the parliament was supposed to elect a new president, who would then nominate the prime minister. The election of the president was postponed due to disagreements over the candidate, according to media reports.
A Kurd, a Sunni and a Shiite By custom, a Kurdish politician serves as Iraq's president. The post of parliament speaker is traditionally occupied by a Sunni Muslim, and the prime minister is a Shiite Muslim. But, there is still political uncertainty over the Kurdish nominee for the presidential post, according to the Kurdish news website Rudaw.
Some 52 lawmakers at the 329-strong assembly have submitted a formal request calling on the main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, to resolve their differences and agree on a presidential candidate before the session, the report said.
More than 20 years after the US-led invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of long-time dictator Saddam Hussein, stability in the country remains fragile. Both neighbouring Iran and the United States are trying to assert their influence in Iraq.
Baghdad also finds itself caught up in a new political crisis after US President Donald Trump earlier this week threatened to stop support for Iraq if former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki returns to the post.
Last week, Iraq's main Shiite alliance, the Coordination Framework, nominated Al-Maliki, viewed as close to Iran, as its candidate for the office of prime minister. But the nomination did not appeal to Trump, who accused Al-Maliki of pursuing "insane policies and ideologies" when he previously served as Iraq's premier for two terms from 2006 to 2014.
Source: Qatar Tribune