ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The ninth Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet remains legitimate until a new government is formed, the Kurdistan Region's Public Prosecution Presidency said on Monday, amid a lawsuit filed by a Kurdish opposition party at Iraq's Federal Supreme Court seeking to reduce the cabinet to caretaker status.
"The continuation of the ninth cabinet of the regional government [in carrying out its duties] is a constitutional and legal necessity," the Public Prosecution said in a statement, citing the need to prevent "a political and administrative vacuum" in the Kurdistan Region.
The statement further pointed to the need to ensure the continued "facilitation of citizens' affairs, provision of services, and securing of peace and stability for the people of Kurdistan."
The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections in October 2024, with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) winning 39 seats and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) securing 23 seats in the 100-seat legislature.
With no party achieving absolute majority, the two sides have engaged in government formation talks that have since stalled due to disagreements over governance structures and key posts.
Amid the stalemate, Kurdish lawmakers have convened only once in December without electing a speaker or deputies. The session ended without significant decisions and was adjourned indefinitely.
The Public Prosecution Presidency on Monday urged Kurdish political parties that secured seats in the October elections “to uphold the demands of the people, convene a session of parliament, and form the Kurdistan Regional Government's tenth cabinet as soon as possible.”
It warned that the continued deadlock had led to “paralysis and legal complications in most constitutional institutions, directly affecting the rights and lives of citizens, and stressed that these issues can only be resolved by reactivating parliament.”
The public prosecutor's statement comes as the New Generation Movement (NGM), a Kurdish opposition party holding 15 seats in the Kurdistan Parliament and one in the Iraqi legislature, filed a lawsuit in early July at Iraq's Federal Supreme Court requesting that the KRG's ninth cabinet be legally reclassified as a strictly limited caretaker government.
The NGM further demanded that all key decisions made by the incumbent cabinet since July 2023 - when its mandated term expired - be annulled.
Notably, the NGM's lawsuit coincided with its signing of a joint agreement with the PUK, aimed at "restoring balance" in the Kurdistan Region, according to a statement released afterward.
Holding a combined 38 seats in the Kurdish legislature, the two parties announced they will negotiate with the KDP as a single bloc - a demand the KDP, which holds 39 seats and prefers to negotiate with each party individually, has rejected.
