PUK leading council to convene for the first time since October 2021

Shafaq News/ The leading council of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is slated to convene later today, Sunday, for the first time since October 8th, 2021.

Back then, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan faced a major leadership crisis when the leader Bafel Talabani began efforts to oust Lahur Talabani, his co-leader and cousin.

A source familiar with the matter told Shafaq News Agency that the meeting will settle the co-leadership dispute between the cousins and discuss the compensations to be offered to the dismissed members of the council.

The council will also touch upon a spectrum of issues related to the situation in al-Sulaymaniyah and the Kurdistan region.

"The political crisis of Iraq will be the main focus of the meeting," the source said.

The PUK is the second-largest party in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and is the historic rival of the larger and politically powerful Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Bafel and Lahur Talabani were selected as party co-leaders in February 2020 after the death of Bafel's father, Jalal Talabani—the former Iraqi president and founder of the PUK, who served as PUK party leader for 42 years.

Initially, the pair aimed to work together to offset the gains of the KDP, which had been on the rise since Jalal Talabani fell ill in 2012.

Three years after Jalal Talabani's death, the party seemed unable to establish a charismatic leader capable of maintaining party unity. The turbulent co-leadership system demonstrated weaknesses and a lack of sustainability in the family-based party.

In October last year, the Talabani's backstage rivalry became the main event, with Bafel directing a series of moves aimed at removing Lahur from power.