Iraqi Kurdistan Risk: Post-election haggling over presidential nominee

Iraqi Kurdistan’s GSN Risk Management Report grade of D4 with a negative outlook for economic and financial risk remains unchanged. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) continue to negotiate over a possible joint candidate for the federal presidency, held since October 2018 by PUK nominee Barham Salih. Not date has been set for the fifth Kurdistan Parliament election, but preparations have begun for a poll in 2022.  The Kurdistan Regional Government earned net revenues of $1.7bn in 2021 from crude exports via the Ceyhan terminal in Turkey but some receipts are stuck in Lebanese banks due to currency restrictions. Local economic, security and political conditions have resulted in large outward waves of migration towards Europe.