ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are set to meet on Tuesday to resume long-delayed talks on forming the Kurdistan Region’s tenth cabinet, a senior PUK official said.
“The KDP and PUK have agreed to meet on Tuesday,” Saadi Pira, a PUK politburo member, told reporters on Saturday, adding that both sides are “optimistic” about reaching an agreement.
The KDP has not yet commented on the scheduled meeting.
Pira said the two ruling Kurdish parties are focusing on three major issues: the formation of the KRG cabinet, the reactivation of the parliament, and the formation of a new Iraqi government.
“If we [the KDP and PUK] are not united in the Kurdistan Region and cannot form the cabinet, we will certainly stand against each other in Baghdad and weaken ourselves,” he warned.
The Kurdistan Region held long-delayed parliamentary elections in October 2024, with the KDP winning 39 of the 100 seats and the PUK securing 23. With no party holding a majority, government-formation talks have been ongoing for months but recently stalled over disagreements on governance mechanisms and key positions.
The most significant dispute is reportedly over the post of interior minister - a position traditionally held by the KDP, which insists on retaining it.
Pira noted that while the two parties share a joint vision for the next cabinet, they still need to reach an agreement “on power-sharing and the mechanism for implementing the government agenda.”
"What matters is reaching an agreement on the government formation," he said.
The PUK politburo member said that after their meeting with the KDP, they plan to engage other Kurdish parties in discussions regarding the tenth cabinet of the Kurdistan Region.