Iraqi Kurdistan presidential election, 1992

Iraqi Kurdistan Presidential election, 1992

May 19, 1992

Party KDP PUK Popular vote Unknown Unknown Percentage Unknown Unknown

President before election Post-Created Elected President None Nonpartisan

On May 19, 1992, both Presidential elections and Iraqi Kurdistan legislative election, 1992 were held.^[1] During the first round Presidential elections Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani won slightly more votes than his main rival Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, however neither won a majority of votes, which was required to become President.^[2] Due to both leaders fearing they might lose in a run-off, the second round was never held and the Kurdistan Regional Government decided to move on without a President.^[3] Instead they established an 8-man Presidency Council consisting of 4 members of each party.^[4]

Meanwhile, they agreed on a power sharing agreement in the Kurdistan Parliament and Council of Ministers. This power sharing agreement broke down in 1994 and resulted in a civil war that lasted until 1998, after which Iraqi Kurdistan was split up in a PUK-controlled zone in the South-East and a KDP-controlled zone in the North-West.^[2]

References

1. Are elections in Iraqi Kurdistan democratic?, 7.7.2010
2. The 2009 Kurdish Elections, July 23, 2009
3. Galbraith, Peter (2006), The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War without End; Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-9423-8
4. Page 3