ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Senior members of the two main Kurdish parties have agreed to present a united front when the Iraqi parliament is returned on Sunday, a spokesperson for one of the groups told Rudaw on Wednesday, following a meeting between the two that day and Sadrist delegation talks with the KDP in Erbil earlier this week.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) met with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in a bid to unify party positions ahead of the formation of a new federal government in Baghdad, a spokesperson for the KDP told Rudaw on Wednesday night.
"Our [KDP and PUK] delegations have held long discussions over a shared agenda for the formation of the new federal government," KDP spokesperson Mahmood Mohammed said in an interview with Rudaw on Wednesday, emphasizing the need to settle the dispute over the position of governor of Kirkuk ahead of the next Iraqi parliamentary meeting. The talks also included a discussion about the upcoming Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections, which the parties confirmed would be held according to schedule, later this year.
The KDP and PUK have held recent meetings to discuss their agendas around the formation of the Iraqi government, following elections in October. Prior to Wednesday, the two have met twice before to discuss Kurdish unity in Baghdad.
According to Mohammed, the bilateral meeting between the KDP and PUK garnered positive results, and the two Kurdish parties agreed to send a unified delegation to Baghdad.
Shedding light on the contents of the agenda, Mohammed explained that topics included "solving issues with the federal government, budget and salary, Article 140, [and] the Peshmerga."
Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution calls for the dispute over areas in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, Nineveh, and Salahaddin, to be resolved; an issue that was meant to be settled no later than 2007 through a referendum among the territories' residents, but never implemented amid disputes between the KRG and Iraqi government.
KDP, which had won 33 seats in the preliminary results of the Iraqi parliamentary elections, lost two seats to the PUK as final results were published. This increase in the PUK's seats meant that they now have 17 seats as opposed to 15, with a further Kurdish candidate who reaped a seat in Kirkuk pledging her affiliation to the party.
The Sadrist bloc won an overwhelming 73 seats out of the legislature's 329 seats in the parliamentary elections this cycle, making them kingmakers and able to form the government based on "sheer numbers", according to Mohammed.
On Tuesday, a delegation from the Sadrist bloc led by Hassan al-Athari met with KDP leader Masoud Barzani to discuss the formation of the new government. The two have yet to reach an agreement, although both sides have stressed their commitment to overcoming challenges in the country, including the resolution of Erbil-Baghdad issues.
Sadrists, however, have not met with the PUK.
Muqtada al-Sadr, Shiite cleric and leader of the Sadrist movement, has emphasized numerous times that he wants a "national-majority" government with a strong opposition.
Mohammed also clarified that the PDK don't wish to create problems among the different Shiite blocs, as they opted to not take sides, saying "We [PDK] have told Sadr that we do not seek to be amongst the issues with the Shiites."
Iran-backed parties, notably the parties within the Coordination Framework, were among the main losers of the election.
The Coordination Framework, which includes the Fatih Alliance, State of Law Coalition, and National State Forces Alliance, have mounted unsubstantiated accusations of fraud, demanding the vote be declared null and void.
The State of Law Coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, won 33 seats as per final results.
The Coordination Framework met with Masoud Barzani in Pirmam last month to discuss potential KDP cooperation with in the new Iraqi government. However, the Coordination Framework and KDP have not reached any agreements.
On Wednesday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met with Falih al-Fayyadh, chairman of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) in Erbil, where the two discussed the formation of a new government in Baghdad, according to Barzani’s office.
By Julian Bechocha
