Iraq News Now

A Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) delegation spearheaded by its deputy head, Nechirvan Barzani, arrived in Sulaimani to meet with the Gorran (Change) Movement leadership and discuss the formation of the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). This comes a day after the KDP held a high-level meeting on the same topic with a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) delegation headed by its acting leader Kosrat Rasul. The KDP delegation was due to arrive and meet with Gorran at noon, but the encounter was postponed by a few hours as the KRG Prime Minister met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, delaying the trip to Sulaimani. Following the meeting with Gorran, the two parties released a joint statement saying both agreed to form two committees each to coordinate on their vision for the future government. They also wanted another committee each to determine the allotment of positions in the next cabinet. The two parties also stressed that the process for the formation of government must be accelerated. The KDP came in first place in the September 2018 elections, winning 45 seats in the 111-seat Kurdistan Parliament. The PUK followed with 21 seats, and Gorran coming in third with 12 seats, halving their gains from the previous election. The leading parties have had multiple rounds of negotiations over government formation. This process has been slow as the PUK and Gorran attempt to maneuver the most gains out of a possible alliance with the KDP. The KDP has previously argued that the allotment of official posts to each party within a coalition government should be proportional to their number of seats in parliament. Sources from the KDP’s negotiating group have stated the PUK wants to reach an all-or-nothing agreement regarding the new KRG cabinet, disputed territories, and Iraqi federal government posts, which the KDP has refused to do, preferring to discuss non-government-formation topics in separate meetings. The talks come as the PUK aims to secure the post of Minister of Justice within the Iraqi government, a position which remains vacant. Choosing a new Kurdish Governor for Kirkuk and the current situation in the province, in general, is another topic on which the PUK seeks to gain KDP’s consent and support. During their latest gathering, the PUK and KDP discussed the issues further. The two sides, in their joint press conference, had little more to offer in terms of progress made regarding the formation of the new cabinet. “We decided to form a joint committee with the PUK to expedite the process,” the KDP Spokesperson, Mahmoud Mohammed, told reporters. “We need to reach a political agreement” as cooperation between the two parties would “considerably benefit the Kurdistan Region,” said Saadi Pira, the PUK’s spokesperson. “Disputes between the KDP and the PUK are not so insurmountable, but they have been greatly exaggerated [by local media],” Pira added at the time. Editing by Nadia Riva