On May 19, 1992, both Presidential elections and 1992 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election were held. During the first round Presidential elections Kurdistan Democratic Party leader

Massoud Barzani Masoud Barzani ( ku, ,مه‌سعوود بارزانی, translit=Mesûd Barzanî}; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of ...

won slightly more votes than his main rival

Jalal Talabani Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...

, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, however neither won a majority of votes, which was required to become President.The 2009 Kurdish Elections
, July 23, 2009 Due to both leaders fearing they might lose in a run-off, the second round was never held and the

Kurdistan Regional Government The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ( ku, حکوومەتی هەرێمی کوردستان, ''Hikûmetî Herêmî Kurdistan'') is the official executive body of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The cabinet is selected by the m ...

decided to move on without a President.Galbraith, Peter (2006), ''The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War without End''; Simon and Schuster. Instead they established an 8-man Presidency Council consisting of four members of each party.Page 3
/ref> Meanwhile, they agreed on a power sharing agreement in the

Kurdistan Parliament The Parliament of Kurdistan ( ku, پەرلەمانی كوردستان ,Perlemanê Kurdistanê or simply Perleman, ar, برلمان كردستان, links=https://www.parliament.krd/arabic/), also called the Kurdish Parliament (IKP), is the parl ...

and Council of Ministers. This power-sharing agreement broke down in 1994 and resulted in a civil war that lasted until 1998, after which Kurdistan Region was divided into a PUK-controlled zone in the southeast and a KDP-controlled zone in the northwest.

References

{{Kurdistan Region elections 1992 elections in Iraq 1992