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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s parliament will move toward electing a “permanent” presidency after it reconvenes in September, a senior member of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Sunday.
The KDP and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Thursday pledged to reactivate the Kurdistan Region parliament in September, nearly a year after elections, and move ahead with cabinet formation.
“We are hopeful that the meeting will be held in September and the [parliament] presidency will continue, the presidency is permanent, the presidency is not temporary,” Vala Farid, head of the KDP bloc in the Kurdistan parliament and former speaker of the legislature, told Rudaw.
“The parliament's first procedure is to select the Kurdistan [Region] parliament presidency. After selecting the presidency, other procedures will be undertaken to form the other permanent committees,” she added.
Saadi Ahmed Pira, a senior PUK member, told Rudaw that naming a temporary parliament presidency to overcome the political deadlock “has a precedent.”
Parliamentary elections were held in October, but negotiations between the KDP and PUK on power-sharing have stalled. The legislature has convened only once, in December, when lawmakers were sworn in. According to regulations, sessions should be held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but no meetings have been scheduled in the past eight months. The two parties have also failed to reach a deal on the composition of the new cabinet.
In the elections, no single party won a majority, meaning a governing coalition will have to be formed, as has historically been the case. The KDP won 39 spots in the 100-seat legislature, followed by the PUK with 23.
Since “both” parties have to form a government “together”, they “must listen to the requests and will of the other,” said Pira.
He argued that it amounts to “sovereignty” if one party controls the interior, oil, electricity, finance, Peshmerga, and justice ministries, along with the premiership and presidency, adding, “The PUK does not accept one side to rule.”
Previous statements from both parties had underscored that they are working to develop a robust and inclusive governance mechanism, with the PUK emphasizing the need for “a true partnership.”
“We are talking about a partnership, and this has implications for dividing the positions,” Pira said, stressing that the PUK is not demanding equal governance but that the next cabinet “must at least have the appearance of a partnership.”
The KDP and PUK, while rivals, have shared power in government since the establishment of the Kurdistan Region in the nineties. For the past several governments, the KDP has held the posts of prime minister and president.
Ranja Jamal and Sangar Abdulrahman contributed to this report.
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