PUK does not play a meaningful role in administering Erbil governorate: official
Rebwar Esmail (L), an official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) office in Erbil with Erbil Governor Firsat Sofi from KDP party, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, May 27, 2020. Photo: Rebwar Esmail’s FB
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— An official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) office in Erbil said on Wednesday that the party does not play a meaningful role in administering the governorate, despite having the second most seats on the Erbil Provincial Council after the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The complaint, raised by PUK official Rebwar Esmail, came after a meeting with Erbil Governor Firsat Sofi, who is a member of the KDP.
The KDP currently has twelve seats on the provincial council out of 30 to the PUK’s six and the Change Movement’s (Gorran) four. The last election to the council was in 2014.
Esmail added that the PUK would try to put aside its differences with the KDP and establish cooperative governance in Erbil.
For his part, Sofi said that he hoped the meeting would help to improve relations between the two parties and added that the KDP’s door was open to reaching an understanding and to collaborate on joint efforts.
The governor also said that the KDP would be meeting with the Kurdistan Region’s other parties to communicate the same message.
Historic rivals, but current governing partners in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet along with Gorran, the KDP and the PUK have increasingly been at odds since the beginning of the year, with provincial rights and governance a renewed area of active disagreement.
In April, the Sulaimani Provincial Council announced that it would be exploring options to implement administrative decentralization, which it said would help bring transparency to the Region’s finances and improve its ability to manage its own affairs.
Gorran has a plurality of twelve seats on the Sulaimani Provincial Council, followed closely by the PUK with eleven, and the KDP with three.
Iraqi Kurdistan is not a unified region, it is divided politically and geographically between the KDP led by the Barzanis and PUK led by the Talabani’s clan. KDP controls Erbil and Duhok governorates and PUK the Sulaimani.governorate.
Even the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are not unified, and considered as militias of KDP and PUK and taking orders from the two ruling parties.
Copyright © 2020, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | nrttv.com
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