ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) failed to reach an agreement on Iraq’s next presidential candidate and the formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) following a high-level meeting in Erbil on Wednesday, an informed source told The New Region.

A high-level PUK delegation arrived in Erbil’s Pirmam district earlier on Wednesday to hold talks with the KDP on the aforementioned topics, which have caused tensions between the Kurdistan Region's two largest parites.

An informed source stressed to The New Region that while there was a good level of understanding on some issues between the two sides, differing views remained, preventing any agreement, including on naming a joint presidential candidate.

The two sides agreed to finalize a candidate for Iraq’s next presidency at their next meeting, before moving on to discussions on the formation of the new KRG cabinet. Both issues of contention are inextricably linked, with the PUK seeking an expanded ministerial portfolio in return for 

The New Region has learned that the PUK and KDP are set to meet again early next week.

The post of Iraq’s president has long been a source of contention and turmoil between the KDP and PUK, with both sides claiming their right to the position. 

This time, the KDP has fielded Iraq’s current Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, while the PUK has nominated Nizar Amedi, Iraq’s former environment minister and the head of the party’s Baghdad office.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the KDP on Tuesday suggested for the candidate to be elected through majority vote, representing the will of the people of the Kurdistan Region. This, he noted, can be done either through the Kurdistan Region’s parliament or through the vote of Kurdish lawmakers in Baghdad to elect a “unified candidate of all Kurdistan.”

KDP officials have repeatedly stressed that the presidency, which has been held by the PUK since 2005, does not belong to a single party.

A delegation from Iraq's ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, an alliance of the country's major Shiite powers and the largest bloc in the parliament, visited Erbil last week to hold talks with Kurdish leaders regarding the government formation process in Iraq.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali, in a meeting on Wednesday with Hussein, said that "the Coordination Framework supports any agreement reached among our Kurdish brothers" regarding the matter.

The Iraqi presidency, traditionally reserved for Kurds, is constitutionally required to be settled by the parliament within 30 days of the new legislature's first session, with the deadline having passed in this case on January 28.