ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – President Masoud Barzani on Wednesday called on boycotting political parties to attend the upcoming sessions of the Kurdistan Parliament, coming after the reactivation of the legislature following two years of inactivity.

The parliament held its first session since the swearing-in of the winners of Kurdistan Region's last elections in December 2024 earlier on Wednesday, breaking a two-year deadlock and appointing the legislature's presidency.

However, the session was boycotted by several parties, including the Kurdistan Region’s second largest party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and was only able to meet quorum as a result of a series of defections from non-participating blocs.

“Now that the Parliament has begun its work, I call on all those respected parties that did not take part in this process to participate as well, and together, for the sake of serving the people of Kurdistan and for further steps, to cooperate with and support the political process,” Barzani said in a statement.

He added that the parliament reactivation is “a step toward protecting and strengthening the Kurdistan Region. It is not directed against any person or party,” and stressed that it will serve the “supreme interests of the people of Kurdistan.”

Barzani further congratulated the people of Kurdistan and all of the Region’s political parties on the occasion, and thanked all the lawmakers who “took a firm stand and carried out their legal and national duty” by taking part in the session and reactivating the institutional body.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest political bloc in the Region, hailed the reactivation of the Kurdistan parliament as "an important step towards restoring the effective functioning of democratic institutions," and urged boycotting blocs to return to the legislature.

The PUK abstained from the Wednesday session after accusing the KDP of failing to work in conjunction with the party to administer the Kurdistan Region. However, two PUK MPs – Hardi Salah and Mohammed Faysal Karimkhan – attended parliament and criticized the PUK's absence, citing the need to overcome inter-party conflicts and resume parliamentary activities.

Other boycotting parties included the National Stance (Halwest) Movement, the Kurdistan Islamic Union, and the New Generation Movement. Halwest leader Ali Hama Saleh announced that two of his MPs who attended the session have been "expelled" from the party, accusing them of "gaining positions and money, but losing their credibility."

The KDP’s Vala Fareed, who was appointed as parliament speaker unanimously by the 52 MPs in attendance, called on the absent parties to participate in a Monday session to nominate candidates for parliamentary committees, stressing the importance of the legal affairs committee in particular, as "parliament cannot perform its work" without it.