ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Delegations of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are set to meet on Monday to discuss the formation of the next Kurdistan Region cabinet, a KDP official said on Sunday, amid more than a year of stalled 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. The two main parties have yet to reach an agreement on forming the next cabinet.

A KDP negotiating delegation will visit political parties on Monday and Tuesday to discuss forming the new government cabinet, “with its first meeting scheduled with the PUK on Monday,” Chia Harki, deputy head of the KDP’s Erbil organizational bureau, told The New Region on Sunday.

Harki added that this round of talks “will be different,” based on the “new circumstances,” and will focus on forming the tenth KRG cabinet and the Kurdish position in Baghdad following the federal election results.

According to information received by The New Region, the delegation will include senior KDP members Hoshyar Zebari, Pshtiwan Sadiq, and Ali Hussein, who are part of the party’s new high-level committee.

On Wednesday, KDP announced that under the directive of President Masoud Barzani, a high-level committee was formed to begin talks with political parties aimed at “unifying positions” following the federal parliamentary election’s results.

The committee held its first meeting on Wednesday with the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU).

The KDP has routinely blamed the PUK for hindering the formation of the next government, accusing the rival party of making unreasonable demands.

On November 19, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said KDP will negotiate the formation of the Kurdistan Region’s next government with the PUK under new terms after its victory in the Iraqi election. 

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 one million votes. 

The KDP has repeatedly stressed that its main objective in participating in the next Iraqi government and parliament is to ensure the implementation of constitutional articles that guarantee the rights of the Kurdistan Region and its people.