ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The newly formed Political Leadership of Kurdistan-Iraq, created to oversee post-referendum developments, is failing to find universal support among the Region’s political parties. 

Politburo member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and spouse of the party’s leader Jalal Talabani, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed said she does not support the body, describing its creation as a “big mistake,” in a statement published Monday evening. 

Saying that Kurdistan is “paying the price” for proceeding with the referendum in the face of widespread opposition, at home, regionally, and internationally, Ahmed decried the formation of the Political Leadership without consultation with the political parties. 

She said that Kurdistan should be re-evaluating their situation “and doing an accurate and realistic assessment of this current situation.”

The September 25 referendum, that saw 92.7 percent support independence from Iraq, has been rejected by Baghdad, Turkey, and Iran, as well as key Western allies like the US and France. In the wake of the vote, Iraq has conducted joint military drills with Turkey and Iran, barred international flights from landing in Kurdistan, and ordered the deployment of troops to disputed areas, among other measures. 

Ahmed compared the establishment of the Political Leadership to the June 7 decision to hold the referendum “without doing any assessing of the developments and possibilities and without consulting the leadership of the political parties.”

The establishment of the Political Leadership was announced on Sunday. The body emerged out of the High Referendum Council, which had overseen the referendum process and was disbanded on Sunday. The multi-party Council was headed by Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani. 

Earlier in the day, Gorran issued a statement calling for the abolition of the Political Leadership.