ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said Saturday that efforts to form the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet and reactivate the Kurdistan Parliament are continuing, nearly two years after the Region’s latest parliamentary election.
KDP spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed said the party has intensified its efforts to overcome the political obstacles preventing the formation of the KRG's 10th cabinet and the reactivation of parliament.
“We in the Kurdistan Democratic Party have intensified our efforts since the elections and are continuing. We consider it necessary to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of forming the cabinet and reactivating the parliament,” Mohammed said at a press conference in Erbil.
His remarks come amid continued efforts by the ruling parties, the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), to reach an agreement on forming the next KRG cabinet.
The two parties have been unable to form a government since the October 2024 Kurdistan parliamentary election. The KDP won 39 of the parliament’s 100 seats, while the PUK secured 23, leaving neither party with the 51 seats needed to form a government alone.
Mohammed stressed that the party has a responsibility to meet the expectations of voters, saying, “We must fulfill the trust that the people of Kurdistan have placed in the political parties, especially the KDP. Therefore, our efforts will continue.”
On talks with the PUK, the KDP spokesperson called for future meetings to produce concrete outcomes. “It is very important that future meetings have results, rather than just being meetings for the sake of meeting. We must bring something to the people of Kurdistan and implement it through action,” he said.
Asked by Rudaw whether the new government would be formed and parliament reactivated this year, Mohammed replied: “We are hopeful.”
Disagreements over power-sharing, including demands for senior government positions and the structure of the next cabinet, have prolonged the deadlock. The PUK has sought key positions, including the presidency of the Kurdistan Region, as well as major ministerial posts.
The dispute intensified in July after the PUK reached an agreement with the opposition New Generation Movement, which holds 15 seats, to form a joint parliamentary bloc. The KDP has rejected negotiating with the two parties as a single bloc, saying it will hold talks with them separately.
Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) has been seeking to mediate between the KDP and PUK. Last month, KIU spokesperson Salahuddin Babakir told Rudaw that both parties had responded positively to an initiative to arrange a high-level meeting.
“The KDP and PUK have responded positively to our initiative. If the meeting takes place, those parties that hold blocs in the Kurdistan Parliament will also participate,” Babakir told Rudaw.
