Iraqi Kurdistan President Resigns After Independence Vote Backfires

Barzani Will 'Continue to Fight for Independence'

Jason Ditz 

Posted onOctober 29, 2017CategoriesNewsTagsIraq, Kurdistan

After substantial military losses in recent weeks to the Iraqi central government, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani has announced that he will be resigning from his position on November 1.

Massoud Barzani

Barzani has been president of Kurdistan since 2005, and while his term in office technically expired in August of 2015, he has repeatedly extended his time in office, and the announcement means he won’t be extending further.

Barzanis time in power include massive centralizing of power in his position, and that’s going to set the stagefor a major shakeup, as the Kurdistan regional parliament looks to shake-up who in the region various powers are delegated to.

Barzani’s ouster was considered a foregone conclusion after the successful independence referendum ended in an Iraqi invasion and major territory losses. Barzani says he intends to continue to fight for independence for Kurdistan.

http://news.antiwar.com/2017/10/29/iraqi-kurdistan-president-resigns-setting-up-power-shift/