“We’re not taking sides now because we are waiting for the results to be confirmed and then as Kurds, or as KDP, which is better to be Kurds as a whole, will have to take a side,” Hoshyar Zebari told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on the sidelines of the Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) Forum at the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) in Duhok.
“We will see whichever party has an inclusive national plan. We will go forth with that party based on that plan,” he added.
Iraqis voted in an early election on October 10 under a new electoral law. The KDP achieved a large victory, tying for third place with 33 seats and once again taking the position of biggest Kurdish party in the Iraqi parliament.
The KDP has opened government formation talks with a wide number of parties. A KDP delegation last month visited Sulaimani where they met separately with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Change Movement (Gorran), and the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party. A delegation also visited Baghdad earlier this month and met with Iraqi parties. Leaders of the KDP and PUK met on Monday, focusing on Kurdish unity in Baghdad.
Government formation talks have not begun in earnest, however, as the election results are still to be finalized. The preliminary results handed victory to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr whose bloc won over 70 seats. Other Shiite parties affiliated with Iranian-backed militias, however, did poorly in the election and have rejected the results. Their supporters protested and at least one person was killed and 125 people were injured when protesters clashed with security forces earlier this month. Just days later, an explosive-laden drone was used to attack the residence of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in what security forces labeled an attempted assassination.
“We have told everyone that we will not be part of Shiite internal conflicts. We will be a way to help in avoiding conflict and calming the situation down,” Zebari said.
Sadr has formed a negotiating committee to hold talks with other parties in order to form the government. The KDP is believed to be one of the parties Sadrists want to work with.
Zebari, who is leading KDP government-formation negotiations, last month said there are agreements with the Sadrist bloc and several other parties including independents, but nothing has been finalized yet.
