ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Region’s two leading parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), are expected to have “a serious meeting” early next month for talks over government formation and parliament activation, a senior Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) member said on Monday.

“We are aware that a better understanding has now emerged between the KDP and the PUK,” KIU spokesperson Salahaddin Babakr told The New Region.

“A serious meeting” between the KDP and PUK is expected to take place in early November, Salahaddin said, with hopes that “a decision will be made to reactivate parliament and that serious steps will be taken toward forming the new cabinet.

The KDP and PUK emerged as the two largest parties in the October 2024 Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections, winning 39 and 23 seats, respectively. However, negotiations over forming the next cabinet have repeatedly stalled, with the two parties blaming each other for the impasse.

One of the main sticking points is the distribution of senior government posts and sovereign ministries, particularly the interior ministry, which the PUK has sought.

PUK leader Bafel Talabani earlier on Monday said his party is ready to make “any type of agreement” with KDP, while speaking at the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum in Erbil.

“We can form the government in 24 hours,” Talabani said, adding, “Time is not the problem. There are some problems; if they are resolved, we will go much further. There are some principles; if we agree on them, the project will go forward very quickly.”

“Be assured that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan does not want to govern without you, nor can it do so,” he said, addressing the KDP. “Our problems are small; they are nothing much. Let’s restart the meetings formally with good intentions.”

The Kurdistan Region’s parliament has met only once in two years amid the prolonged deadlock over government formation.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told reporters on Tuesday that “it is necessary that it [the parliament] be reactivated as soon as possible,” calling on lawmakers “not to waste any more time.”

In mid-September, the New Generation Movement (NGM) said it would not join the Kurdistan Region’s next government and would instead remain in opposition, despite its formal alliance with the PUK. The NGM holds 15 seats in parliament, while the PUK holds 23. The two parties had previously sought to challenge the KDP and negotiate as a unified bloc.