Erbil talks: KDP, PUK to settle Kurdish and Iraqi governments
Shafaq News – Erbil
The two main political parties in the Kurdistan Region are set to hold high-level talks on Tuesday to break the deadlock that has stalled governance in the Region, an informed source told Shafaq News.
According to the source, the meeting will bring together senior leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to address unresolved disputes related to the formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as well as Iraq’s government. The talks will also review conditions for resuming the Kurdistan Parliament’s suspended sessions.
Political tensions between the two parties have paralyzed the Kurdish legislature since the October 2024 elections, when the KDP secured 39 of the parliament’s 100 seats, and the PUK won 23. Lawmakers convened briefly on December 3 but failed to elect a speaker or advance cabinet formation, leading to an open-ended suspension.
The rivalry extends to the federal level. In Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections, the KDP won 26 seats nationwide, compared with 15 for the PUK. Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, the Iraqi presidency is traditionally held by a Kurdish figure—most often from the PUK—while the KDP retains the Kurdistan Region presidency. Disputes over the post have also previously delayed government formation.
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