ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will not withdraw its ministers from the regional government despite the ongoing impasse in the Kurdish parliament, according to a senior PUK member. Unconfirmed reports indicated last week that the PUK planned to withdraw its support from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in an effort to pressure the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to resume negotiations with the opposition Change Movement (Gorran). Relations between the KDP and Gorran declined in 2015 after violent rioters set fire on KDP offices and killed two of its local party members in Sulaimani province in November. The KDP then accused Gorran of architecting the riots and sacked its three ministers from the KDP-led cabinet in addition to expelling the speaker of the parliament – a Gorran member who took office after a deal with the KDP following the inconclusive elections in 2013. The regional parliament in Erbil has not convened since November last year with the PUK demanding the return of the ousted speaker, Youssef Muhammad. The PUK and Gorran have since signed a strategic pact ahead of next year’s elections, which basically makes it possible for the two former rival parties to enter the polls on a joint ticket. “The PUK has no plans to withdraw from the KRG, since withdrawing from government will pave the way for a split in governance in Kurdistan,” between Erbil and Sulaimani, said Farid Asasard, a senior PUK official. “We want Erbil to remain as the regional capital,” he added. Before the general elections in 2005 the Kurdistan Region had two regional administrations, a PUK-led one in Sulaimani and a KDP-led one in Erbil. The two administrations merged in 2005 after a historic pact between the two parties ended decade-long rivalries. With 38 of regional parliament’s 111 seats the KDP struggled to form a broad-based cabinet after the elections in 2013 with the PUK, 18 seats, and Gorran, 24 seats. Also other parties were given ministerial posts to ensure stability in the country.
