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Former Kurdish woman lawmaker nominates himself for Iraqi presidency

SHAFAQNA– The former Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament from the Change Movement (Gorran), Sirwa Abdulwahid has announced her candidacy as  next president of the Republic of Iraq which makes her the first woman to run for this position in Iraq.

According to media outlets close to Gorran, Abdulwahid is not the party’s nominee for the position, but she is independently running for presidency.

Abdulwahid, whose brother is the founder and leader of the New Generation Party, will reportedly submit the documents to register for the parliamentary vote on presidency on Sunday.

She is, however, known as a pro-Iraq figure who stood against the independence referendum of Kurdistan last year, a bid which received over 92% “Yes” votes in support to Kurdistan’s statehood.

Abdulwahid is often criticized for her discriminatory statements and insults she hurled at the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and their families during interviews with the Iraqi media outlets, basnews reported.

“I announce my candidacy for the post of President of the Republic of Iraq in accordance with the Iraqi constitution,” Abdulwahid said in a press statement on Sunday stressing that faith in the Constitution begins with the application of equality and justice for all Iraqis without exception.

She pointed out that the “Constitution ensures equal opportunities and partnership”.

“I run today as a Kurdish Iraqi, independent of any political party, and without the support of any political party and political consensus. However, I run and represent all the Iraqi national forces and women who are being marginalised by some parties” she said, Middle East Monitor reported.

Sarwa Abdul Wahid, who holds a Bachelor degree in Arabic Language from the University of Baghdad in 1993, worked as a journalist in a number of local media institutions and then worked as a teacher until 1998.

She then became a member of the Relations office in the Council of Ministers of Sulaymaniyah and worked throughout these years as activist in defending women’s rights in society until 2014.

Following that, she became a member of the Council of Representatives for Erbil governorate and headed the Parliamentary Change Bloc.

She also won the membership of the parliamentary Arab women network.

During her parliamentary work, she participated in several seminars in the US, about the impact of the negative referendum on Kurdish social, economic and political reality.

Abdulwahid is the third person to announce her candidacy for the presidency, along with Barham Saleh, who was nominated by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and Sardar Abdullah, a member of the Change Bloc, who introduced himself as an independent candidate.

The candidate for the presidency in Iraq needs to win two-thirds of the votes of the Parliament members, Al Arabiya reported.

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