ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The two ruling parties of the Kurdistan Region cemented their ties with a pledge to revitalize their relationship and formulate a joint strategy for building the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and resolving relations with Baghdad.
Top leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) met in Erbil on Tuesday at the request of the PUK.
They agreed on “better reorganizing bilateral relations between the PUK and KDP in a way that is up to the current task in terms of politics, economy, and diplomatic relations in a way that provides strong support to the KRG,” read a joint statement from the two parties after their meeting.
They also resolved to work together to find solutions to the KRG’s problems with the central government and to move forward on the matter of the disputed areas like Kirkuk, they detailed in their joint statement.
The KDP and PUK have worked closely together in recent years, sharing power in successive governments. Their relationship, however, suffered several recent blows, including the PUK withdrawal from Kirkuk last year and a row over the post of the Iraqi presidency this autumn.
But as talks are ongoing to divvy up roles in the next KRG, the KDP and PUK are ready to put their problems behind them and look to a future where they will have “join stances and joint visions on Iraq, Kurdistan, and the region,” they stated.
They threw their support behind a special committee tasked with forming the government and ensuring participation of all parties in the next cabinet.
Details of the distribution of government posts were not discussed, the PUK spokesperson said.
"We held a very good meeting," Saadi Pira said of the meeting. "In the meeting, we did not talk about the distribution of the posts."
This was the second meeting between the two largest parties since the election on September 30.
KDP deputy Nechirvan Barzani and PUK acting leader Kosrat Rasul led their delegations.
The KDP is seeking the post of speaker in the Kurdistan Region parliament. The Change Movement (Gorran) held the post following the 2013 election, but resigned following disputes with the KDP.
The KDP and PUK have historically been partners in the Kurdistan Regional Government.
"When we speak of genuine partnership, it is to have a strong and successful government, to be able to resolve all the issues that have gripped the Kurdistan Region," Latif Nerwai, a PUK official said.
He explained the KDP and PUK wants more than just an "agreement" they want a concrete "deal."
He rejected claims that the PUK does not want any other parties to be in the next KRG cabinet.
"We do not have red lines against any side," Nerwai said.
A PUK delegation arrives at a KDP office in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, on December 11, 2018. Video: KDP
Member of the PUK politburo Mala Bakhtiar wrote in a personal statement on Monday that the KDP cannot rule without the PUK despite the latter not able win more sway with the electorate.
“Neither can KDP rule Kurdistan through majoritarian politics, nor can the PUK through populism weaken the KDP,” he said.
The KDP won 45 seats in the parliamentary election on September 30. The PUK won 21. Both are marked increases from 2013.
“The amount of the votes of the KDP and PUK didn’t change the fact that neither KDP without PUK nor PUK without KDP can form a majority government,” added Bakhtiar.
Despite the KDP being 11 seats shy of an absolute majority, Bakhtiar believes that is not in the interest of the Kurdistan Region.
“Those in the KDP who thought if they garnered twice as many votes as the PUK and were to befriend the quota lists, they could kick the PUK out of the circle have failed," he explained.
He added that the PUK's "populist trend" was naive and has been hit by a "stone of real political equations."
The meeting comes after KDP leadership was expected to visit Sulaimani to meet with the PUK and several other parties.
This is a developing story... Updated at 6:00 p.m.
