ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani and Change Movement (Gorran) leader Nawhshirwan Mustafa pledged to work closely to speed up the delayed formation of the next Kurdish government.
The two leaders agreed on strengthening relations, on Kurdish unity in Baghdad and the government formation, which has been delayed nearly four months after the September elections for the Kurdish parliament, sources told Rudaw.
“Mustafa told Barzani that the formation of the Kurdistan Cabinet has been delayed long, despite Gorran's relinquishing of the post of deputy prime minister,” a source knowledgeable about the talks said.
The source quoted Mustafa as saying that, "If Gorran is an obstacle to the government formation it is ready to remain the opposition in parliament in order to not hinder the government formation."
But Barzani told Mustafa he prefers Gorran to be inside the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and that all Kurdish parties should adopt a single stance in confronting issues with Baghdad.
The source said Barzani had questioned why Gorran is insisting on getting the Interior Ministry portfolio.
In 2009, many Gorran members were purged from the security and police forces. Many fear that Gorran’s control of the ministry will be used for revenge by the party against members of the other parties, in particular the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
The president’s office, and officials from the KDP and Gorran, described the meeting as friendly and positive. They said discussions had centered on the government formation and the difficult negotiations still ahead with other parties.
Jafar Ibrahim, spokesman of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which is led by Barzani, said that his party “recognizes the status of Gorran and has asked it to become a real partner in the government.”
He hailed Gorran's steps as "positive” and hoped to elevate their relations further.
The post of the deputy prime minister has been contested between Gorran and the PUK, which came third in the Kurdistan legislative polls in September.
Last week, Gorran agreed to allow the deputy premiership to go to the PUK, and said it was willing to accept the parliament speaker post in order to expedite the government formation.
The PUK has been reeling under leadership, political and organizational issues since December 2012, when its leader Jalal Talabani suffered a stroke and has been recuperating in Germany ever since.
Some Political parties have accused the PUK of being the main cause of the delay, by not accepting it has lost its leadership role to Gorran, after coming third in the September elections.
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