Iraqi president says will not seek re-election

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will not
seek re-election after Thursday’s parliamentary election
because the new constitution has curbed his powers, his office
said on Tuesday.

“This position does not tempt me,” Talabani told Arab
satellite television al-Arabiya on Monday in comments later
issued by his office. “I would not nominate myself given the
powers the president now has under the new constitution. He has
no power to participate in the running of the state.

“I wouldn’t want to be a president of protocol.”

Talabani, leader of one of Iraq’s two main Kurdish parties,
became president after the January 30 election for an interim
assembly. Since then, Iraq has drafted and approved a new
constitution which he says waters down his role.

Talabani’s decision not to seek re-election suggests he
might seek a more powerful post in the new government.

His Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two parties in
the Kurdish bloc which came second in January’s election, is
part of the coalition government and is expected to be a major
player in the new assembly formed after Thursday’s vote.