ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will negotiate the formation of the Kurdistan Region’s next government with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) under new terms after its victory in the Iraqi election, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said Wednesday. 

Iraq held parliamentary elections on November 11. The results displayed a significant victory for the KDP, which secured 27 seats and became the first Iraqi and Kurdish political party in history to surpass over one million votes. 

Speaking at the MEPS Forum in Duhok, Barzani said that the KDP will negotiate the formation of the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet “based on the new conditions” it has after the Iraqi elections. 

He further blamed the PUK for "insisting on some very unreasonable positions" and hindering the formation of the Kurdistan Region's next government. 

“You should respect that the formation of the next government has to be a reflection of the victory of each group,” he asserted, adding that the KDP has been “very respectful and generous” in government formation talks.

The Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary elections in October 2024, with the KDP emerging victorious with 39 seats, followed by the PUK with 23. 

Both parties have since held government formation talks that have significantly slowed down in recent months. The KDP has routinely blamed the PUK for unreasonable demands and for hindering the formation of the Kurdistan Region’s next government. 

Speaking at the forum, Barzani stated that “it was clear” that the PUK did not want to form the Kurdistan Region’s next government before the Iraqi elections, adding that “they must explain their stance.” 

Barzani also touched on disputes between the KRG and the Iraqi federal government, reiterating that the Kurdistan Region is seeking a permanent solution to the outstanding issues in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution. 

“We are trying to organize our relationship and fix our relationship with the federal government based on the constitution,” he asserted. "We cannot afford continuing to live in a country where the law is constantly violated and disrespected.” 

"The mechanism to implement the constitution is lacking. No one who violates the constitution is held accountable,” the premier continued. 

Barzani further blamed Baghdad for imposing significant financial difficulties on the Kurdistan Region’s citizens by failing to send public sector salaries, slamming Baghdad’s halt of Kurdish oil exports as a “political decision.” Exports have since resumed. 

Kurdish authorities have routinely called on their Iraqi counterparts to refrain from mixing political problems with public sector salaries.

"There was no reason for them to cut off the oil export to begin with," he said. "They did it once, so what is stopping them from doing it again?"

“If there was real power-sharing, these things would not be issues,” the Kurdistan Region’s premier said about Erbil-Baghdad disputes. 

The Kurdistan Region’s financial disputes with Baghdad are ongoing despite the signing of a landmark deal to resume Kurdish oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline in September, which had been halted for 30 months after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the KRG to export oil independently from Baghdad.

"I hope Baghdad knows that now with the sale of oil, there is more revenue to the country, so I think it would be more logical and more reasonable for Baghdad to continue exporting oil from Kurdistan," said Barzani.