However, the parliament’s second biggest party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), says it will only participate if Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) allows the PUK to nominate the new governor of Kirkuk.
“Whenever the Kurdistan Democratic Party approves the name of one of the candidates the PUK has proposed for the post of Kirkuk governor and whenever Kirkuk provincial council meets on this matter, we will submit names of our candidates for government positions to Masrour Barzani in 48 hours,” PUK leadership member Farid Asasar told Rudaw.
Kirkuk is a disputed territory claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad. The oil-rich province was recaptured from Peshmerga forces after Erbil’s referendum for independence from Iraq in late 2017.
Following the takeover, Kirkuk governor Najmadin Karim was ousted and replaced by his deputy Rakan al-Jabouri. Now the PUK wants to fill the post of Kirkuk governor with its own candidate.
The PUK is determined to resolve the problem of Kirkuk before joining the new KRG cabinet “so that we join the government without problems,” Asasar said.
“We don’t want to engage the ninth cabinet with problems.”
The PUK has said it is flexible on the timing of resolving the Kirkuk question, providing it is settled soon after the new KRG cabinet is formed.
“We will submit names of our candidates for ministry positions to the parliament if we can reach an agreement on the issue of Kirkuk a few days after the formation of the cabinet,” Asasar said.
“We have no problem selecting our candidates for government posts. We have already settled on some candidates and can settle the rest in a party leadership meeting,” he added.
Kirkuk has long been the sticking point between the Region’s two biggest parties.
“There has recently been constant contact between the two parties in a bid to reach a deal and I am optimistic we will,” a PUK leadership member told Rudaw on condition of anonymity.
The KDP has said it will take into account the PUK demand for a PUK governor in Kirkuk, stressing the problem can be resolved but not necessarily before or during the formation of the new cabinet.
“The PUK has been told that the problem of Kirkuk could be resolved, but not necessarily simultaneously with the formation of the government. But the PUK’s requirements will be considered,” a KDP leadership member told Rudaw on the condition of anonymity.
“A solution can be found which both can agree on,” he added.
The Kurdistan Region has been run by a caretaker government for the past nine months. Erbil urgently needs a new cabinet to address relations with Baghdad, resolve outstanding issues on oil sales, agree its share of the federal budget, and solve territorial disputes.
A new government will also reinvigorate the political and economic atmosphere in the Region as it emerges from the war with the Islamic State (ISIS) and a crippling financial crisis.
Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region, tasked his cousin Masrour Barzani with forming the new KRG cabinet on June 12. The former-chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council has until July 12 to form his cabinet.
The Kurdish parliament takes its summer recess on July 1, so time is of the essence to vote on the new cabinet.
If cabinet nominations are not submitted before the end of June, the parliament may convene an emergency session.
The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections on September 30, 2018, with the ruling KDP winning 45 seats in the 111-seat legislature. The PUK won 21 seats, and the Change Movement (Gorran) 12.
No party won an outright majority to form the government alone, forcing the KDP to negotiate a coalition deal with its nearest rivals, the PUK and Gorran.
Kirkuk remains the key barrier to progress.
