ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and several opposition parties are prepared to reconvene the Kurdistan Region’s parliament to elect its leadership, the legislature’s interim president said Sunday, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) continues to insist on a prior agreement over key government posts amid a two-year political deadlock.
"I am ready to reactivate the parliament and elect the presidency board, but organizing a parliamentary session without an agreement among the political parties of the Kurdistan Region will result in deep disagreements,” Mohammed Sulaiman told Rudaw’s Zhinar Star.
Sulaiman is a lawmaker from the New Generation Movement (NGM), a major opposition party with 15 seats in the Kurdistan Parliament. As its oldest member, he chaired the legislature's first session in December 2024, when newly elected lawmakers were sworn in, two months after the Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections. The parliament has not convened since.
He said the KDP, NGM, the opposition National Stance Movement (Halwest), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Social Democratic Party (KSDP), and the five minority quota lawmakers were prepared to attend a new session.
The continuing deadlock has left the Kurdistan Region without a functioning parliament or a new government two years after the October 2024 elections, as the KDP and PUK remain divided over the distribution of senior posts. Although recent talks have raised hopes of an agreement, the two parties have yet to resolve their differences.
Sulaiman did not mention the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), which has boycotted the current parliamentary term, or the People's Front (Baray Gal), which holds two seats.
"So far, PUK officials have not informed us that they would be prepared to reactivate the Kurdistan Parliament without a prior agreement," Sulaiman said, adding that holding the session without the PUK "will not be easy" because of the party's political weight and its "strategic agreement" with NGM.
The PUK and NGM signed an agreement in July, bringing together their respective 23 and 15 parliamentary seats in a 38-seat alliance. The KDP, which holds 39 seats, has refused to negotiate with the two parties as a single bloc, insisting on separate talks.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani recently reaffirmed his commitment to the alliance, despite NGM's announcement in September that it would not participate in the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet and would remain in opposition.
"The constituent parties of the new cabinet must agree on the premiership, the Kurdistan Region Presidency, and the Kurdistan Parliament Presidency positions, and only then should a session be held to elect the presidency board," he told Rudaw.
His remarks came after Vala Farid, head of the KDP's parliamentary bloc, addressed an open letter to Sulaiman on Saturday, urging him to convene a session to elect the legislature's presidency board.
Farid said Sulaiman had an "honorable duty" that he should carry out "unconditionally and without delay."
"We, as the KDP bloc, are ready for the session and the reactivation of the parliament," she told Rudaw on Saturday, saying there was no justification for further delays.
The KDP and PUK have traditionally shared power in the Kurdistan Region, with the KDP holding the presidency and premiership in recent administrations. However, the PUK has sought a greater share of senior government positions, including half of the next cabinet, a demand that has complicated negotiations.
Earlier this month, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani accused the PUK of delaying government formation, warning that the KDP's "patience is not without limit."
PUK leader Bafel Talabani subsequently said his party was willing to compromise on its demands to form a new government, insisting that disagreements with the KDP were not insurmountable.
The deadlock also faces a legal challenge. Iraq's Federal Supreme Court is scheduled to consider two lawsuits filed by Halwest on Monday, seeking the dissolution of the Kurdistan Parliament and restrictions on the KRG's executive powers. The court postponed its rulings in September to allow more time for legal preparations.
"Whenever the PUK, KDP, and New Generation reach an understanding, I will set the date for the Kurdistan Parliament session," Sulaiman said Sunday.
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