UPDATE 3 - Erbil leader to not contest presidential election

UPDATES WITH DETAILS FROM BARZANI'S VIDEO STATEMENT

By Idris Okuducu

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani announced Sunday he would not participate in the upcoming Nov. 1 presidential elections.

In a letter read out on his behalf during the regional government's parliamentary session, Barzani said: "As a Peshmerga, I will continue at the service of our people; I refuse to get any extension and will not continue in this position; law should not be amended for me."

Later, it was agreed to transfer presidential duties of Masoud Barzani to the parliament and the Council of Justice following a voting process, Aydin Maruf, a parliament member from the Iraqi-Turkmen Front, told Anadolu Agency.

Maruf also said the KRG's Presidential Council had been abolished as well.

Earlier on Saturday evening, senior Barzani assistant, Hemin Hawrami, tweeted: "President Barzani called for Parliament / President elections on 12/7 to be held in Nov 1. Parliament extended its work for two seasons."

After the vote, a group of people stormed the regional parliament building, firing shots in the air as they made their way inside.

The group, which claimed to be supporters of Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), chanted slogans in favor of Barzani and hurled stones at the parliament building.

Security forces at the scene dispersed the group and forced them out of the parliament building area.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency about the incident, Maruf said KDP members were trying to calm down the protesters.

- Kirkuk retreat 'treason'

In a televised address, Barzani said what happened in Kirkuk on Oct. 16 when it was handed over to Baghdad-backed forces was “treason”.

“The Peshmerga and all the people of Kurdistan were stabbed in the back by a poisonous dagger,” he said, according to Rudaw English.

On Oct. 16, Iraqi forces took over Kirkuk from Kurdish elements.

The operation came weeks after an illegitimate independence referendum in KRG-controlled territory.

Kirkuk was among territory seized by Kurdish forces when the Iraqi military abandoned the city in the face of Daesh advances in 2015 even though it was not within the borders of the KRG’s autonomous territory.

About the illegitimate referendum of Sept. 25, he said even if the referendum had not been held, there was a plan to attack Kurdish areas and destabilize the situation in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, adding: “The culture in Baghdad hasn’t changed."

Tension has steadily mounted between Baghdad and the KRG since Sept. 25, when Iraqis in KRG-held areas -- and in several disputed areas, including Kirkuk -- voted on whether or not to declare political independence.

The unconstitutional referendum was heavily criticized by most regional and international actors, with many warning it would distract from Iraq’s ongoing fight against terrorism and further destabilize the region.

On Wednesday, the KRG -- fearing more military escalation by Baghdad -- offered to “suspend” the results of last month’s illegitimate referendum, halt all military activity and enter into dialogue with the central government.