ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An advisor to Bafel Talabani, president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said Sunday the party has developed a detailed package for participating in Iraq’s next federal government, as efforts have intensified to form a new government following the appointment of a prime minister-designate.
Bestun Fayaq told Rudaw's Sangar Abdulrahman that Saturday’s meeting between Talabani and Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, who met with the Kurdish leaders in Erbil and Sulaimani as part of intensifying efforts to form a new cabinet, was “good,” adding that the PUK would join the new government with “a project and a plan.”
Fayaq said that the party has prepared a “multi-page and multi-point” framework that Talabani will present during negotiations, adding that the PUK, "as an influential Kurdish and Iraqi force,” will participate in the cabinet “with Kurdistan and Iraqi projects and plans.”
Following his meeting with Zaidi, Talabani said in a statement that discussions focused on resolving longstanding disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, stressing a government should be formed that “ensures a dignified life for citizens, overcomes economic and security challenges, and protects the rights of all Iraqi components - especially the Kurdish people - in accordance with the constitution.”
Iraq held legislative elections in early November, and in late December, parliament elected its speaker and two deputies. On April 11, parliament elected the PUK nominee, Nizar Amedi, as president.
Late last month, Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework - the largest parliamentary bloc with 174 seats - named Zaidi as its “consensus candidate” for the post of the country’s next prime minister, after weeks of consultations among its constituent parties.