In the middle of May in 2014, before ISIS attacked the Kurdistan Region, all the region’s establishments were functional. There was an economic crisis, but it wasn’t caused by political factors.
It was a perfect opportunity for the parliament to pass a law giving the go-ahead to the independence referendum. Now, we wouldn’t be in need of a legal recourse such as the constitution to hold the referendum had this law been passed in the parliament.
In the absence of an effective parliament, the process of Kurdish independence, the hope of millions of Kurds, is about to encounter a stumbling block.
The independence referendum is intended to show the world through a legitimate vote that Kurds support the creation of a Kurdish state. Hence, this process should be rendered legal through the reactivation of the parliament.
The endeavors of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to change the speaker of the parliament didn’t lead to concrete results. In the interest of pursuing the great objective, the KDP should allow Yusif Mohammed to go back to his job and assign him the work, rather than personalizing the matter.
This will create a chance for the parliament to pass laws on elections, determine the timing of general elections and referendum, determine the geographic borders of the independence referendum, and help the Change Movement (Gorran) reengage in the Region politically and the process of building a Kurdish state. This way, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), with whom the KDP is looking to reinvigorate their strategic alliance, will not be embarrassed.
The most recent meeting between the leadership bodies of the KDP and the PUK was important, although hurried. It was led by Masoud Barzani and all the PUK factions were present there. The people of the Kurdistan Region have been anxiously waiting to see development in the subjects that were discussed in the meeting.
The fact that the PUK positively responded to the KDP’s invitation to hold such a meeting and their subsequent joint statement calling for the formation of a committee to determine the timing and mechanism of holding the referendum show that the PUK doesn’t want to fall behind the KDP in national matters. The PUK’s role in the raising of the Kurdish flag in the city of Kirkuk along with its response to Baghdad makes up for the party’s years of inadequate attention to national matters.
The meeting and its subsequent joint statement carries another message. It was the KDP and the PUK which led the way to today’s Kurdistan Region.
These two parties have a shared history in service to the Kurdistan Region – creating the Kurdistan Front, deciding to hold elections and establish the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), signing a bilateral strategic pact, participating in the drafting of the so-called Iraqi state, exploring oilfields and the sale of oil, unifying the region’s two different administrations, fighting ISIS, and raising the Kurdish flag in Kirkuk. In addition, they both fought the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the past.
These are all the result of joint endeavors and political will of these two parties. In light of the statement issued by the PUK after its most recent leadership meeting, it can be inferred that the party wants to be part of decision-making in the Kurdistan Region, despite the party’s internal disagreements.
This will distance the PUK from the Gorran party’s regional politics, preventing other small parties to fill its position in power-sharing with the KDP.
The pact signed between the PUK and the Gorran party in May 2016 requires them to jointly visit other parties in the region. But this is being practiced by the PUK and the KDP, instead. Thus, it is the path presently taken by the PUK that is likely to restore the power balance in the Kurdistan Region, rather than the party’s agreement with the Gorran party.
The KDP and the PUK have been trying for the past three years to change the balance of power in the Kurdistan Region, with each attempting to do so in its favor. But the Kurdistan Region has benefitted only when these two parties have been united.
