ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani will meet in Erbil on Saturday night, the second such meeting since the Region held parliamentary elections in October.

The New Region understands that the two leaders will meet in Erbil’s Pirmam on Saturday night.

This will be the second such meeting since the Kurdistan Region held elections in October last year. The two met once more on January 15.

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) politburo member Hoshyar Zebari at the time said the meeting went “smoothly and had a frank & constructive discussions and took place on one-on-one basis which was in line with the negotiation process between KDP-PUK.”

The KDP and PUK have held several rounds of government formation talks. The New Region understands that the talks are now mainly centered around the distribution of ministries.

The KDP and PUK 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.

The Kurdistan Region’s newly-elected members of parliament were sworn in early December, officially commencing their legislative duties. By law, the lawmakers were supposed to elect a speaker during the first session, but the vote was not carried out due to failure to reach the legal quorum.