ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Top officials of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are set to come together on Tuesday, to discuss the final steps in the formation of the new government cabinet, a senior KDP source told The New Region.

The executive-level meeting will be chaired by President Masoud Barzani, with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani joining him on the KDP side.

 
The PUK, on the other hand, will be represented by PUK leader Bafel Talabani, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and senior PUK member Darbaz Kosrat Rasool.  

The KDP and PUK emerged as the main parties from the October 20 parliamentary elections, gaining 39 and 23 seats, respectively. The Kurdistan Region’s newly elected members of parliament were sworn in early December, officially commencing their legislative duties.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rasool told The New Region that the two sides are “not far from each other,” suggesting that there will be “good news in the coming days” regarding an understanding between the two election victors.

The two parties are poised to team up to form the next government cabinet, with numerous meetings having been held between both sides towards that end. A “final draft” outlining the formation of the cabinet was reached between the two parties on March 18, which has been followed by multiple rounds of talks since between the two parties.

Tuesday’s meeting comes two days after President Masoud Barzani on Saturday received the PUK’s Bafel Talabani at his residence in Pirmam, where the pair discussed " forming the Region's new government [cabinet]," in addition to the political situation in the region and the political process in the Kurdistan Region.

The two sides met once more at the executive level in late April, when Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with the PUK leader in Dukan, prior to which sources told The New Region that the meetings will be decisive and will see discussions around “the distribution of posts.”