ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - As political parties in the Kurdistan Region are holding meetings to explore possible government formation scenarios, four parties, holding a total of 14 parliamentary seats, are considering to form a united opposition front in the legislature.

The Kurdistan Parliament held its first session on Monday where newly elected MPs were sworn in. 

The top three parties from the October 20 elections, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and the New Generation Movement, all submitted their nominations for the parliamentary speakership, however quorum was not met for the vote and it was delayed until further notice.

Outside the parliament, political parties have started visiting each other in a bid to form a majority that would form the government. 

Standing out are four political parties who have shown no interest in partaking in the government formation process, and they are the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) with seven seats, the National Stance Movement (Halwest) with four seats, People’s Front with two seats, and Gorran with one seat.

Speaking to The New Region, Kardo Mohammed, a member of the Gorran politburo, said that they would be an opposition movement with several bills to submit to the legislature.

“We will be on the opposition front, an opposition that has projects and works towards monitoring the government and standing against the shortcomings in the country,” he said, adding that they will have a united front with other parties in the coalition.

The KIU is the strongest of the four parties, boasting seven parliamentary seats, and has called on the rest to join their cause.

“We can form an opposition front together and call it the Opposition Parties Federation, so we can better monitor the government” Salahadin Babakr, a senior member of the KIU told The New Region. 

A similar stance has long been shared by both Ali Hama Saleh, head of the Halwest Movement, and Lahur Sheikh Jangi, head of People’s Front, who have time and again said they would not enter any government formation negotiations with the ruling KDP and PUK.

The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections on October 20, following a two-year delay. The Region had been without a parliament since May 2023 after Iraq’s top court ruled against the self-extension of the parliament’s term by another year.

The primary winner of the elections, the KDP and runner-up PUK, held their first meeting aimed at forming the next government cabinet in Sulaimani on Saturday. The delegations said the meeting proceeded in “a positive atmosphere” without providing further clarification.