Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, the widow of former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and a member of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) politburo, said Sunday that she supports the selection of a single Kurdish candidate for the position of the Iraqi president. “The issue of the president of the republic candidacy is currently about to harm the unity between the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, therefore I think it is better to have an agreement on one candidate for the post of president, and that this candidate shall be appointed by the representatives of all Kurdish political forces in Baghdad,” Ahmed said in a statement. She also praised the alliance between the PUK and the KDP and the benefits it has brought the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. “The PUK and KDP have always made achievements for the people of Kurdistan through unity and alliance,” Ahmed added. “We consider it relevant at this stage that the alliance and unity of these parties and other Kurdish parties continue so that we can preserve our achievements and play a big role in Iraq," she continued. On Friday, KDP President Masoud Barzani said: “We prefer that the political parties agree on one candidate for the post but the brothers from the PUK elected their candidate unilaterally and then other parties, including the KDP, announced their candidates.” Political parties in Kurdistan should launch a mechanism to finalize the matter, and the opinion of the people of Kurdistan must be respected, he said after receiving PUK candidate Barham Salih.