KDP ready for PUK talks on KRI crisis
Shafaq News- Erbil
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is ready to meet with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to resolve their differences and end the political crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), KDP spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed said on Monday.
Mohammed welcomed KDP leader Masoud Barzani’s “important” initiative to break the deadlock, saying the party was also ready to meet with other political groups in the KRI.
Earlier today, Barzani urged the PUK to hold talks with the KDP and said he wanted other parties to help form a broad-based government. The interests of the people of Kurdistan outweigh all other interests and objectives, he said.
The crisis deepened after the parliamentary leadership vote. On November 5, PUK President Bafel Talabani announced his party’s decision to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). He rejected the session and its outcomes, saying the proceedings lacked genuine political consensus. The PUK would name its own KRI president, prime minister, and ministers if the KDP went ahead with those appointments, he added.
The Kurdistan Parliament reconvened on November 4 with 52 of its 100 members present, the KRG’s US representation said. Lawmakers elected KDP candidate Vala Fareed as speaker, Christian representative Rami Noori as deputy speaker and Turkmen representative Muna Qahwachi as parliamentary secretary. The session went ahead despite an official boycott by the PUK, the New Generation Movement (NGM), and other parties. The KDP said reopening parliament was necessary to protect the KRI’s constitutional status and end the legislative stalemate.
The KDP won 39 seats in the October 20, 2024, election, followed by the PUK with 23 and the NGM with 15, according to final results announced by Iraq’s electoral commission. Disputes over forming a government and distributing senior posts prevented lawmakers from completing the election of their leadership after the inaugural session in December 2024. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s cabinet remains in office pending the formation of a new government.
Read more: Kurdistan’s 10th cabinet: Interlocking alliances and political differences
