Some Iraqi citizens are taking the bold step of applying for the presidency, despite knowing they have almost no chance of winning.

Their goal is not to secure the top job but to challenge the entrenched system of distributing posts based on sect and political affiliation, a system critics say perpetuates corruption, inefficiency and sectarianism.

Under Iraq's ethno-sectarian power-sharing system, established after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, the presidency is reserved for a Kurd, the parliamentary speaker's post for a Sunni and the prime minister's office for a Shiite.

A long-standing agreement among the Kurds stipulates that the president's post goes to a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate, while the leadership of Iraq's semi-a

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