ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday said Erbil is working to fix its relationship with Baghdad in line with the Iraqi constitution, reiterating his call for the rapid formation of the Region’s next cabinet.
Speaking at the Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) Forum in the northern Duhok province, Premier Barzani said the Kurdistan Region aims to “organize and fix” its ties with Baghdad “based on the constitution,” stressing that the charter “clearly states how this relationship” should function.
A recent agreement between Erbil, Baghdad, and international oil companies (IOCs) enabled the resumption of Kurdish oil exports in late September, ending a suspension of more than two and a half years.
Despite this breakthrough, financial disputes continue, with the federal government still delaying salary payments to more than one million civil servants in the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Region Prime Minister criticized Baghdad for withholding salaries, noting that the federal government is “now exporting our oil, they are collecting more money” and accordingly, the revenues.
Iraqi elections
Iraq held early legislative elections on November 9, followed by the general vote on November 11.
On Monday, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced the final results, with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC) winning 46 seats in the 329-seat parliament.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), for which Prime Minister Barzani serves as Second Deputy Leader, ranked second nationwide with over 1.1 million votes, yet secured just 27 seats - placing fifth behind four blocs that received fewer overall votes.
The Kurdish Premier criticized the federal electoral law, saying that a fairer system "would have made parliament more representative," and noting that although the KDP won the most votes as a single party, its parliamentary seats do not reflect this.
Regarding post-election negotiations, Prime Minister Barzani said the KDP has set “full implementation” of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution as a key “condition” for any party seeking its partnership in forming the next federal government.
He further pointed to the resolution of disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad and the enactment of a federal hydrocarbon law to regulate the gas and oil dossier as long-standing issues that must also be addressed.
KRG tenth cabinet
The Kurdistan Region held its long-delayed parliamentary elections in October 2024, with the KDP winning 39 seats and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) securing 23.
As no party secured a majority, a coalition government is set to be formed, as in previous terms. However, cabinet formation has been stalled for months.
Prime Minister Barzani said the KDP had hoped the tenth cabinet would be formed “immediately after the elections” and would be “inclusive,” but progress was impeded by the PUK’s insistence on securing posts that did not align with the number of votes it received.
For his part, during the Iraqi legislative elections campaign, PUK leader Bafel Talabani reiterated that the party would not join a new KRG cabinet without guarantees of equitable power-sharing and equal service provision across the Region.
In early November, the KDP accused the PUK of refusing to continue cabinet formation talks until after Iraq’s parliamentary elections - a position the KDP said it “does not accept.”
The Kurdish Premier said the PUK’s push to delay talks may have stemmed from expectations that the KDP would perform differently in the Iraqi legislative vote.
“Today, post-Iraqi elections, conditions have changed, so we are going to negotiate the formation of the government based on the [new] conditions,” he noted.