ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish lawmakers met on Sunday to delay parliament’s summer recess, scheduled for July 1, for 15 days to buy extra time for cabinet formation talks. Progress has stalled amid disagreements between the ruling parties over the appointment of Kirkuk governor.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani was expected to submit the names of his cabinet ministers for parliamentary approval before the end of June. But ongoing talks between his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have delayed the process.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani tasked his cousin Masrour Barzani with forming the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet on June 12. Masrour has until July 12 to assemble his top team, including ministers from the KDP and its nearest rivals, the PUK and the Change Movement (Gorran).
Time is against him, however, as parliament normally takes its summer recess on July 1. Sunday’s meeting was called to extend parliament’s spring term to buy extra time and to avoid having to convene an emergency session.
Cabinet talks have now dragged on for almost nine months since the September 30 parliamentary election, mainly due to disagreements between the ruling KDP and the PUK over the problem of Kirkuk.
The PUK is determined to resolve the problem of Kirkuk before joining the new KRG cabinet.
“Whenever the Kurdistan Democratic Party approves the name of one of the candidates the PUK has proposed for the post of Kirkuk governor and whenever the Kirkuk provincial council meets on this matter, we will submit names of our candidates for government positions to Masrour Barzani within 48 hours,” PUK leadership member Farid Asasar told Rudaw this week.
Kirkuk is a disputed territory claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad. The Iraqi Army and Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias seized the oil-rich province from Peshmerga forces after Erbil’s referendum for independence from Iraq in late 2017.
Kurdish forces had defended the province from repeated Islamic State (ISIS) attack and controlled the city’s administration after Iraqi forces fled the jihadists’ initial offensive in 2014.
Following the takeover, Kirkuk governor Najmadin Karim was ousted and replaced by his deputy Rakan al-Jabouri. Now the PUK wants to fill the post of Kirkuk governor with its own candidate.
The Kurdistan Region has been run by a caretaker government for the past nine months. Erbil urgently needs a new cabinet to address relations with Baghdad, resolve outstanding issues on oil sales, agree its share of the federal budget, and solve territorial disputes.
A new government will also reinvigorate the political and economic atmosphere in the Region as it emerges from the war with ISIS and a crippling financial crisis.
In last year’s election, the KDP won 45 seats in the 111-seat legislature. The PUK won 21 seats, and Gorran 12.
No party won an outright majority to form the government alone, forcing the KDP to negotiate a coalition deal with its nearest rivals.
So far, only one ministerial post has been announced. A candidate from the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP) is expected to take charge of the Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs.
Kirkuk remains the key barrier in efforts to form the new cabinet.
