SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The PUK has reached an initial agreement to hold the party’s congress in March and to select a committee tasked to run its affairs until the congress is held, a senior official told reporters on Wednesday following a meeting of the PUK Leadership Council.
Adnan Mufti, leadership member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, said they are going to meet again on Thursday to finalize the plans for holding the congress including setting the date, following the death of the party’s founder and head Jalal Talabani in early October.
The PUK, one of the two ruling parties that form the Kurdistan Regional Government, has faced a series of crises since last year such as the loss of the party’s stronghold of Kirkuk to the Iraqi forces on October 16, a loss the PUK is mainly held responsible for.
Two committees must be selected, one to prepare the program for the congress and the other to take charge of the executive affairs of the party ahead of two key general elections in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
The Iraqi parliamentary and provincial elections are scheduled for May 12.
The PUK and the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) disagree on the date of the Kurdish elections, with the former insisting on September while the latter prefers any date before the Iraqi elections.
Hero Ibrahim Ahmad, leadership member and widow of Talabani, said late December the party will hold the congress on March 7, but the other leadership members have yet to agree on this.
Qubad Talabani, the KRG deputy prime minister, unsuccessfully pushed for the congress no later than last January. He is said to have been tipped for the top PUK position.
The party had failed to meet twice before being able to convene on Wednesday. Kosrat Rasul, the PUK acting head, chaired the meeting.
