ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) met on Monday in the Dukan district of Sulaimani province to discuss the formation of the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet. However, no final agreement was reached on the allocation of key government posts, sources told Rudaw.
The KDP delegation was led by Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who also serves as the party’s deputy head. The PUK delegation was headed by party leader Bafel Talabani and included Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, a senior PUK figure.
A PUK delegation member, speaking to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, said the meeting "proceeded in a positive and good atmosphere," but noted that no final decisions were made regarding cabinet positions.
For his part, a member of the KDP’s central committee also told Rudaw that the meeting between the two ruling parties was “good.” Speaking on condition that his name be withheld, the KDP figure noted that the PUK had requested several sovereign ministerial portfolios.
Sovereign portfolios traditionally refers to the topmost important ministries in a cabinet, including the defense, interior, foreign, finance and justice ministerial portfolios.
In the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Peshmerga ministry functions as the equivalent of a defense ministry.
The same KDP source added to Rudaw that his party only “offered one sovereign ministry” to the PUK: the Peshmerga ministry. Rudaw’s correspondent in Dukan, Peshawa Bakhtyar, confirmed that the KDP additionally agreed to hand over the finance ministry.
However, according to Bakhtyar, the PUK additionally demanded the positions of interior and natural resources ministers, as well as the post of chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC). The PUK also requested that the authorities and duties of the Kurdistan Region’s Deputy PM Qubad Talabani be defined in writing.
The KDP reportedly rejected the aforementioned demands. Accordingly, further talks will be held.
Of note, a former Kurdistan parliament lawmaker representing the KDP, Fadhil Basharati, told Rudaw on Tuesday that the PUK is seeking certain government positions that, based on "the election results,” should be allocated to the winning party - the KDP.
The Kurdistan Region held delayed parliamentary elections in October. The KDP emerged as the leading party with 39 seats in the 100-member legislature, followed by the PUK with 23 seats. As no single party won a majority, a governing coalition will need to be formed, as has traditionally been the case.
Since then, talks between the KDP and PUK on the shape of the KRG’s tenth cabinet have been ongoing.
Notably, the ongoing deadlock has significantly impacted the region’s legislative process. Since the October elections, the Kurdistan Parliament has convened only once, in early December. No speaker, deputy speaker, or secretary were elected during that session, and no further meetings have been scheduled, as lawmakers await the outcome of the coalition talks.