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Kurdistan
PUK leader Bafel Talabani speaks at a party forum in Sulaimani on May 28, 2022. Photo: PUK Media
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) announced on Saturday that his party has its eyes set on the positions of president and prime minister in the Kurdistan Region’s upcoming election, adding that they seek to “correct power balance” in the Region.
Iraq held parliamentary elections in October 2021 but the political parties have failed to elect a president and prime minister for the country due to political disputes. The PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) have fielded different candidates for the largely-ceremonial position of the presidency.
“The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan will have candidates for the prime minister and [Kurdistan] Region’s president positions but after the PUK wins the position of [Iraqi] president. Our objective is to become the number one party,” Talabani told members of his party during a forum on Saturday.
The Kurdistan Region’s general elections are scheduled for October 1 but there are arguments about the electoral commission, election law, and electoral roll. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq's (UNAMI) Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met with representatives of six key Kurdish political parties to discuss the electoral issues.
Talabani, who attended the meeting, said they will meet again on June 9.
“Our aim is to create a unity to make a serious change in election law, the [electoral] commission and others so that we can hold an election as soon as possible to correct the power balance in Kurdistan,” he said.
“I believe that we will succeed in the election of [Iraqi] president and in the upcoming elections in Kurdistan,” claimed the leader.
He went further to claim that they have “strong” candidates for the upcoming elections in the Kurdistan Region.
The PUK and KDP have been the ruling parties in the Kurdistan Region since 1992, with the former holding the position of the prime minister for years. The relations between both parties were harmed due to race over the position of Iraqi president which has been held by the PUK since 2005.
Representatives from both KDP and the PUK met last week and decided to de-escalate tensions following mediation initiated by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.
The position of Kurdistan Region’s president has always been held by the KDP.
The KDP gained 45 seats and the PUK gained 21 seats in the Region’s parliamentary elections in 2018. The legislature has 111 seats, with 11 of them being dedicated for minorities.
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