ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is hoping to rebuild ties among Kurdish parties in expectation of making deals as the new Iraqi government takes shape.
Party spokesperson Saadi Ahmad Pira said they have formed a committee to talk with parties in the Kurdistan Region that secured seats in the Iraqi parliamentary elections, beginning with the KDP politburo.
“The PUK has formed a committee to visit winning parties in Kurdistan to discuss the formation of the next Iraqi government and the way the Kurds participate in it,” Pira told Rudaw.
Ahead of the May 12 elections, Kurdish parties tried and failed to form a united bloc. After the vote, relations plummeted as accusations of vote rigging dominated the discourse.
A group of opposition parties – Gorran, CDJ, Komal, KIU, IMK, and the Communist Party – have called for a manual recount or full do-over of the election in the Kurdistan Region and the disputed areas.
The PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) separately sent delegations to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi winners in the elections. The two parties, who secured 43 of the 58 seats that went to Kurdish parties, met in Baghdad, but have not been able to bridge relations with the opposition parties.
“The reason why visits have not been made is related to parties themselves. Some of them have said they are waiting to hear about the complaints they have with [electoral] the commission. We will start these visits when this issue is settled,” Pira said.
He dismissed claims that the PUK was not willing to meet with its rival Gorran.
“We will visit all of them,” he insisted.
The PUK and KDP have met twice since the elections, but neither have met with the opposition parties.
Pundits predict that Kurdish parties can play a pivotal role in the new Iraqi government, but only if they are united.
Party spokesperson Saadi Ahmad Pira said they have formed a committee to talk with parties in the Kurdistan Region that secured seats in the Iraqi parliamentary elections, beginning with the KDP politburo.
“The PUK has formed a committee to visit winning parties in Kurdistan to discuss the formation of the next Iraqi government and the way the Kurds participate in it,” Pira told Rudaw.
Ahead of the May 12 elections, Kurdish parties tried and failed to form a united bloc. After the vote, relations plummeted as accusations of vote rigging dominated the discourse.
A group of opposition parties – Gorran, CDJ, Komal, KIU, IMK, and the Communist Party – have called for a manual recount or full do-over of the election in the Kurdistan Region and the disputed areas.
The PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) separately sent delegations to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi winners in the elections. The two parties, who secured 43 of the 58 seats that went to Kurdish parties, met in Baghdad, but have not been able to bridge relations with the opposition parties.
“The reason why visits have not been made is related to parties themselves. Some of them have said they are waiting to hear about the complaints they have with [electoral] the commission. We will start these visits when this issue is settled,” Pira said.
He dismissed claims that the PUK was not willing to meet with its rival Gorran.
“We will visit all of them,” he insisted.
The PUK and KDP have met twice since the elections, but neither have met with the opposition parties.
Pundits predict that Kurdish parties can play a pivotal role in the new Iraqi government, but only if they are united.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment