KDP candidate Nechirvan Barzani was elected president of the KRG this week, securing 68 votes in the region’s 111-seat parliament. The rival PUK and Goran parties boycotted the vote.

Mr Barzani’s election was something of a fait accompli given the KDP’s foothold in the region’s political scene, and it is now expected that his cousin (son of KDP leader and former KRG president Masoud Barzani) Masrour Barzani will be made prime minister and tasked with forming a new government. (CONTINUED - 133 WORDS)