KRG PM-designate meets with parties to discuss cabinet formation
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Prime Minister-designate of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Monday held a series of meetings on the formation of government with political parties that are expected to be part of his cabinet.
Masrour Barzani, the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) nominee for the premiership, arrived in Sulaimani early in the day and met with politburo members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP), and Change Movement (Gorran), respectively.
The Kurdistan Region held a parliamentary election in late September in which the KDP secured 45 seats out of a total of 111 in the regional legislature, beating out the PUK’s 21 seats and Gorran, who won 12. Drawn-out talks finally concluded last month when lawmakers attended a session during which they elected Nechirvan Barzani as the new Kurdistan Region President, a post suspended since 2017.
Last week, the Kurdistan Region's Parliament named Masrour Barzani as prime minister-designate with 87 votes out of 97 attending lawmakers, following which President Nechirvan Barzani issued a formal letter asking him to form the new KRG cabinet. According to the legal procedure, the Prime Minister-designate has 30 days to present his ministerial portfolio to parliament for approval.
“The posts had already been decided among parties. Now, we will only receive the CVs of the candidates to discuss,” Masrour Barzani told reporters following a meeting with the KDP politburo on Sunday. “The candidates should be qualified and have the principles needed to become ministers.”