ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Thursday said it offered major positions to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to form the tenth cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and accused the rival party of deliberately stalling negotiations until after the Iraqi elections.

The Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections were held over a year ago on October 20, 2024.

Despite several meetings between the two main victors of the elections, they are yet to reach an agreement on the distribution of government offices.

“After the final agreement on the common vision in May 2025, we began discussing the manner of participation of both parties in the duties and powers of governance in the Kurdistan Region. For that purpose, our party presented two foundations: respecting the election results, and considering the position of both parties and the reality of the Kurdistan Region,” the KDP said in a statement.

“Although the KDP became the first force by a large margin in terms of seats and votes, on the directive of President Barzani … we showed that degree of flexibility and were ready to agree to far more than the PUK deserved in terms of votes and seats, only to give assurance to the PUK,” it added.

The New Region has learned that the KDP, as the victor of the elections with 39 out of a total of 100 seats, has offered second-place PUK with 23 seats, several important offices within the cabinet. The offices include parliament speaker, deputy prime minister, and deputy president, as well as several ministries, including the finance and Peshmerga ministries.

“Within the framework of the meetings, it became clear that the PUK will not come forward for an agreement until the elections for the Council of Representatives of Iraq are held, despite having been informed several times that this is not in the interest of the Region, and the KDP does not approve of this.” the statement read.

The ruling party emphasized that the will of the Region’s voters must be respected and no party should stand in the way of a functioning parliament and the formation of the tenth cabinet for “any illogical reasons.”

In October, the KDP notified its rivals that should the two parties fail to reach common ground, it will opt for forming the next KRG cabinet with other parties and components.