Seventeen years of PUK rule

Iraq 01:28 PM - 2022-12-07
 The PUK logo on the left and Dr. Abdullatif Rashid on the right

The PUK logo on the left and Dr. Abdullatif Rashid on the right

After the fall of Saddam’s regime and following the conduct of the first Iraqi elections, Iraq has been under the presidency of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for the past seventeen years during which the party proved its capability to keep the balance between the different Iraqi components and proved its importance not only as a major political party in the Kurdistan Region but rather in Iraq as well.

For the fifth time straight since 2005, the PUK has recently won the presidency of Iraq.

The late President Mam Jalal, the first Kurdish president of Iraq

President Jalal Talabani (Mam Jalal), the founder of the PUK and a former secretary-general, became Iraq's first Kurdish leader and sixth president in 2005. Later, in 2009, he was elected to serve for a second term by the parliament.

Dr. Fuad Masum, the 7th president of Iraq

Dr. Fuad Masum, one of the founding members of the PUK, succeeded President Mam Jalal as the 7th President of Iraq in 2014 and held the position until 2018.

Dr. Barham Salih, the 8th President of Iraq

Dr. Barham Salih, a PUK candidate, succeeded Masum as the nation's 8th president, holding office until 2022.

Dr. Abdullatif Rashid, the current and 9th President of Iraq

With 162 votes out of 242 casts, the PUK's Dr. Abdullatif Jamal Rashid received the majority of the legislative votes and was subsequently elected as the 4th Kurdish and 9th President of Iraq.

There have been numerous judgments made in the public good over the past seventeen years of having a Kurdish president, as well as numerous significant legislations passed and institutions founded, for instance:

-Incorporating the permanent Iraqi constitution to protect the rights of all Iraqi groups, including the Kurds.

-Specifying 17% of the entire Iraqi budget as the Kurdistan Region's portion.

-Iraq became a federal state with the ability for its citizens to participate in democracy and the voting process.

-With the 25% female quota, giving more women the opportunity to lead the nation.

-The creation of the integrity board, the federal court, and many more.

As the structure that united all Iraqis with all of their constituent parts, the late President Mam was regarded as the guardian of all Iraqis.

The new PUK President, his son, is moving in the same direction. For the first time in nine years, Iraqi political groups representing all constituents (Kurds, Sunnis, Shia, etc.) convened on November 28, 2022, in Baghdad, when several crucial decisions were taken and reached. As a result, the PUK once more served as the place where all Iraqis could congregate.

Know more on the PUK 

The PUK is a political party founded in the Kurdistan Region on June 1st, 1975. Its principles are democracy, human rights, and the right to self-determination. The PUK is a member of Socialist International. The co-founders, Jalal Talabani (Mam Jalal), Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fouad Masoum, Kamal Fouad, Adil Murad, Omer Sheikhmus, and Abdul-Razaq Faili, met on May 22, 1975 at Talitla Restaurant in Damascus, Syria. They convened to discuss the establishment of a new political organization. They subsequently announced the founding statement of the PUK on June 1st, 1975.

 

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