KDP, PUK discuss Kurdish unity in Baghdad, security cooperation​

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region’s main ruling parties met on Sunday to discuss the political situation in Iraq following October’s parliamentary elections. The parties emphasized the importance of unifying the Kurdish stance and presenting a united front as the new federal government is formed, according to a joint statement released after the meeting.

Headed by Fazel Mirani, the secretary of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) political bureau, a high-level delegation from the party arrived at the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) headquarters in Sulaimani’s Dabashan on Sunday morning.

The parties held talks “on several important issues, especially the political situation in Iraq after the October 10 elections, Kurdish dues, and the unification of Kurds and the Kurdistani stance,” read the joint statement.

They also discussed “all the important national issues in Baghdad,” it added.

Iraqis voted in an early election on October 10. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced the official results on November 30, after resolving all of the complaints submitted by objecting parties.

The KDP is tied for the fourth-largest number of seats, winning 31, and once again taking the position of largest Kurdish party in the Iraqi parliament. The PUK won 17 spots in the 329-seat legislature.

The parties also discussed security cooperation following a surge of Islamic State (ISIS) activities that have left over twenty Peshmerga fighters dead.

The KDP and PUK held their first meeting, where they focused on Kurdish unity, a week after the elections. 

Since the US-led invasion of 2003 and the fall of the Baath regime, political power in Iraq has been divvied up between the main ethnic groups, with a Kurdish president, Shiite prime minister, and Sunni parliament speaker.

The PUK has held the presidency post in every government since then, but PUK member Imad Ahmed said the parties “did not go into the details” of who will be handed that post.

“We discussed the principles. We look at it [the meeting] positively and as a necessity,” Ahmed told Rudaw following the meeting.

The KDP previously revealed that it has a plan for uniting Kurds in the legislative body.

KDP head Masoud Barzani met with PUK co-chair Bafel Talabani in November, emphasizing the importance of presenting a united Kurdish front in Baghdad as well as drafting a joint programme focused on “the formation of the next Iraqi government, establishing the principle of partnership in the government, implementing citizens’ demands and achieving stability." 

Once the election results are ratified by the Supreme Court, a process of forming the government will be set in motion, as dictated by the constitution. Within 15 days, the president will call for a parliamentary meeting chaired by its eldest member to elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority. The parliament also elects a president by a two-thirds majority.

The president will then task the largest bloc in parliament with forming the government, naming a prime minister within 15 days of the election of the president. The prime minister-elect then has 30 days to name a cabinet.