Maruf and other opponents of a presidential system contend that a parliamentary system will be more suitable to accommodate different groups and prevent major powers from being concentrated in one person's hands.
While the presidency law demands that new elections be held after August, the KDP is attempting to reach a negotiated solution with other parties.
"It's not a matter of personalities and Barzani," Mohammedali Yaseen Taha, spokesman for the KDP's parliamentary bloc, told Al-Monitor. "The situation in [Iraqi] Kurdistan and Iraq does not allow us to have presidential elections," Taha said, referring to the ongoing conflict between Kurdish peshmerga and IS forces, as well as a sharp economic downturn caused by budget disputes with Baghdad.
"Taking this situation into consideration, the law [passed in 2013] for extending [Barzani's term] can be amended again and this is an option," he added.
Al-Monitor spoke on condition of anonymity with non-KDP politicians, who unanimously rejected that their parties will agree to Barzani retaining his office for another term or prolonged period. Taha, however, argues that such a view is only "political rhetoric" meant for public consumption. He suggested those parties might change their position at the negotiating table.
As parties debate how the controversial question of Iraqi Kurdistan's presidency be resolved, the parliament has formed a committee to revise a draft constitution for the region that was passed in 2009. A major source of contention in the draft is the extent of the president's power versus parliament or the prime minister.
Although a time frame has not been set for amending the draft constitution, some like Marwan Galali, a member of parliament from the Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal), say that the question of the Kurdish president's powers and the nature of the political system can be resolved by the draft constitution as well.
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