"We might have one or two months of legal vacuum [before the draft constitution is agreed upon], but then we can resolve the matter and this is most preferable to us,” Galali told Al-Monitor. He heads the Komal bloc in the Kurdish parliament and believes a system where the parliament can truly hold the president and other executives accountable is most suitable for Iraqi Kurdistan. "[Without a solution], the situation will head toward a crisis and result in a [prolonged] legal vacuum,” he said.
As slow talks among Kurdish parties to find a solution for Iraqi Kurdistan's presidency drag on, some speculate a compromise might be reached by the stakeholders to avert a major crisis.
"I think the KDP will accept a parliamentary system in return for Barzani to stay in office. They will agree to fewer powers [for Barzani] but will not accept a mere ceremonial role," Kamal Rauf, a prominent local journalist and commentator, told Al-Monitor.
"What is notable is that political factions do not trust each other and do not appear to believe in peaceful transfer of power, and the war against IS has been invoked as a pretext for all this," Rauf said.
Given a history of internal Kurdish conflict, many like Rauf are concerned that a failure to resolve the matter via consensus might lead to heightened tensions among Kurdish groups and even division of Iraqi Kurdistan's territory along factional lines, as was the case in the 1990s when the KDP and PUK fought a civil war.
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