ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Delegations of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which emerged as the first and second winners of the October parliamentary elections respectively, held the second round of their government formation talks in Erbil's Pirmam, with both sides stressing the need for “a mutual agenda” to govern the Kurdistan Region.
“In the meeting, steps towards forming the next Regional Government cabinet, and necessary steps to help succeed this process were discussed. Both sides agreed to establish a mutual agenda for the bases that will be used to govern Kurdistan in the next phase, in a way that the agenda will have to protect the stability of the Kurdistan Region,” according to a joint readout of the KDP-PUK meeting.
The KDP and PUK also decided to form a joint committee to oversee “the drafting of the mutual agenda.”
The delegations held their first meeting on government formation in late November, which they proceeded in “a positive atmosphere” without providing further clarification.
The Kurdistan Region’s newly-elected members of parliament were sworn in earlier this month, officially commencing their legislative duties. By law, the lawmakers are supposed to elect a speaker during the first session, but the vote was not carried out due to failure to reach the legal quorum.
Both parties, and the New Generation Movement, have submitted candidates for the post of parliament speaker, but a session to vote on the position has yet to be announced.
The PUK has insisted that the party must receive either the post of the Kurdistan Region’s presidency or the premiership during government formation talks.
The KDP has 39 seats in the parliament, while the PUK has 23. The two parties could realistically form the next cabinet without the inclusion of any other parties as they make up more than half of the legislature. Combined with the five minority quota seats, the winners of which are already believed to be affiliated with either of the two parties, the KDP and the PUK would have 67 lawmakers on their side, allowing them to pass or deny any legislation in the parliament with a two-thirds majority.
It has remained unclear when the KDP and PUK will hold their next meetings.
Regional developments
On December 8, the Syrian rebel forces announced overthrowing the Bashar al-Assad regime, after over half a century of rule.
The Assad family’s five decades of rule spectacularly came to an end a week ago, as a result of an 11-day sweeping offensive led by the rebel group HTS.
Soon after the Damascus regime's downfall, opposition groups formed an interim government that would last until March 1 under Mohammed al-Bashir's leadership.
Like other regional countries, the Kurdistan Region too has been affected by the civil war in Syria, as Erbil opened its doors to receive thousands of Syrian refugees, in which according to the latest data from the KRG, they are numbered at over 65,000.
The KDP and PUK said they both “agreed that they should share similar views and take the same stances to protect the supreme interests of the Kurdistan Region at this delicate stage.”
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