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 yesterday.

"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 tomorrow's vote.

(China Daily December 14, 2005)