Shafaq News – Erbil

Iraq’s parliamentary elections dominated talks between Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani — who also serves as the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) deputy leader — and France’s Ambassador to Iraq, Patrick Durel, during their meeting on Wednesday in Erbil.

According to a statement from the Kurdish Presidency, the discussions covered the next phase of the political process, with both sides welcoming the “successful” conduct of the vote as an important step forward and stressing the need for cooperation among political parties to form a federal government capable of meeting citizens’ expectations.

They also discussed the internal situation in the Kurdistan Region and France’s relations with both Baghdad and Erbil, and underlined the importance of resolving outstanding issues between the two sides on the basis of the constitution, alongside wider regional developments.

Iraq completed its sixth parliamentary election on November 11, with turnout surpassing 56 percent nationwide. Final tallies from the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) show Shiite parties securing 187 seats, Sunni blocs 77, and Kurdish parties 56. Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing arrangement, the presidency has traditionally gone to the Kurdish component and has been held by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which won 15 seats — a claim contested by the KDP, which secured 26 seats.

Read more: Can a Kurdish framework emerge? Iraq’s new political alignments test the Kurdish house