ERBIL, Kurdistan - Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on Sunday postponed until October 26 its rulings on two lawsuits filed by the Kurdish opposition Halwest Movement seeking the dissolution of the Kurdistan Parliament and restrictions on the powers of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The judicial delay provides temporary relief for Erbil’s administration, granting the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) room to negotiate a new cabinet nearly two years after regional elections.
One lawsuit seeks to have the KRG treated as a caretaker government and stripped of its executive powers, while the other seeks the dissolution of the Kurdistan Parliament. The court postponed the cases until October 26, according to Halwest lawmaker Rebwar Karim and Iraqi reporting on the session.
Karim, who heads Halwest’s bloc in Iraq’s parliament, told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Sunday that the postponement came after requests from representatives of the Kurdistan Parliament and the KRG.
The Kurdistan Parliament had informed the court that its oldest member, who is currently presiding over the legislature, had not yet appointed a lawyer to represent it, while the KRG’s lawyer requested additional time to prepare and examine documents.
Karim said the court did not reject the lawsuits as outside its jurisdiction, unlike some previous cases filed by his movement.
The New Generation Movement leader Shaswar Abdulwahid has also filed a lawsuit seeking to strip the KRG of its executive powers. Current court proceedings include cases challenging the status of the Kurdistan Parliament and the KRG.
The postponement coincided with signs of easing tension between the KDP and PUK, following undisclosed talks between KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani aimed at breaking the cabinet deadlock that Rudaw reported last week.
The Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary elections in October 2024, but nearly two years later the new cabinet has yet to be formed. The KDP won 39 of the parliament’s 100 seats, while the PUK won 23.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani welcomed the bilateral outreach on Saturday, expressing optimism that continued talks between the ruling rivals could yield a functional governance agreement.
However, PUK leadership tempered expectations during a politburo meeting in Sulaimani, where party chief Bafel Talabani and Qubad Talabani characterized the high-level meeting strictly as an "icebreaker" rather than a formal accord.
The PUK and New Generation signed the “Balance and Prosperity Agreement” in July, combining their 23 and 15 parliamentary seats into a bloc of 38, one seat fewer than the KDP’s 39.
When the news of the recent KDP-PUK contacts emerged, New Generation spokesperson Himdad Shaheen said his party would not participate in a government and would remain in opposition.
On Saturday, Abdulwahid called on the PUK to reconsider entering a government with the KDP. Speaking at a press conference attended by Rudaw, he said New Generation had not been informed about the recent meetings between the two ruling parties.
“We weren't, in any shape or form, aware of these meetings that may have taken place between KDP and PUK, and the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, in September,” Abdulwahid said.
He also said the PUK was approaching the KDP with its own 23 seats rather than the 38-seat PUK-New Generation alliance. He criticized the move and said it could prolong what he described as poor governance in the Kurdistan Region.
He said he had urged the PUK to rely on the alliance's parliamentary strength rather than seek an agreement with the KDP.
“We have signed a political agreement with the PUK. We will keep our end of the bargain. I expect the President of the PUK to do the same,” Abdulwahid said.
He added that his party was unhappy with the growing contacts between the KDP and PUK but would seek to preserve its alliance with the PUK.
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