ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on Sunday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the recent reactivation of the Kurdistan Parliament, according to state media, amid escalating tensions between the Kurdistan Region’s two ruling parties and growing calls by some groups in Sulaimani for a separate administrative region.
The ruling is a setback to efforts by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its ally, the New Generation Movement (NGM), to undo the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)-led initiative to reactivate the parliament and form a new cabinet despite a PUK boycott.
Iraq’s state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) cited a source from the Federal Supreme Court as saying that “the court decided to dismiss the lawsuit seeking the dissolution of the Kurdistan Parliament in its current term.”
The decision comes nearly two weeks after the KDP moved to reactivate the Kurdistan Parliament on November 4, despite opposition from the PUK, which has questioned the legitimacy of the legislature.
The move has deepened a political crisis between the two parties, which have jointly governed the Kurdistan Region for decades but remain divided over the formation of a new government and the distribution of power.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani has rejected the reactivation of parliament and announced his party’s withdrawal from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), warning that the PUK could establish a separate administration in Sulaimani if the KDP proceeds with forming a new cabinet without an agreement.
The escalating dispute has also fueled calls for the establishment of a separate administrative entity in Sulaimani, with some organizations in the province reportedly working to collect signatures in support of declaring a “Sulaimani Region.”
Such a move could threaten the administrative unity of the Kurdistan Region, which has been governed as a unified federal entity since the Kurdish civil war of the 1990s left the KDP and PUK controlling separate administrations in Erbil and Sulaimani.
Speaking in Erbil on Sunday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the importance of preserving the Region’s unity, warning that his government would confront any attempts to divide or weaken it.
“Protecting the Kurdistan Region’s entity and developing the Kurdistan Region is a national duty for all of us. On the one hand, we strive every day to implement projects to improve people’s lives and support them. On the other hand, we will stop at nothing to protect the Kurdistan Region’s entity and prevent it from being divided,” Barzani said.
“With all our efforts and capabilities, and with the support of Almighty God and the loyal and patriotic people of Kurdistan, we will confront any attempt to divide or weaken the Kurdistan Region,” he added.
The prime minister's remarks come amid growing concerns that the political deadlock could revive the divisions that characterized the Kurdistan Region during the 1990s, when the KDP and PUK maintained rival administrations following a bloody civil war.
KDP President Masoud Barzani has also called on the two parties to resolve their differences through dialogue, as tensions continue to threaten the political stability of the Kurdistan Region.
The KDP and PUK have been at odds over the formation of a new cabinet since the October 2024 parliamentary elections, with disagreements over the distribution of government positions, powers, and responsibilities repeatedly delaying negotiations.
Updated at 1:07 pm
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