Kurdistan
Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani speaks at a presser in Sulaimani on May 18, 2025. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani announced on Sunday that his party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will contest Iraq’s November 2025 legislative elections separately, while continuing talks to form the Region’s long-delayed government.
Speaking at a press conference in Sulaimani, Talabani stated, “We have decided not to unite under a single list. Instead, each [party] will run with its own list,” adding, “From what I understood in the previous meeting [with the KDP], it may be better for everyone to participate with their own list.”
Iraq is scheduled to hold its legislative elections on November 11, which will include the Kurdistan Region. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced on Wednesday that candidate registration for the elections will begin on May 25 and run through June 24.
Talabani’s announcement comes as the Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties have been holding talks since last November to form the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) tenth cabinet.
The Region held delayed parliamentary elections in October, with the KDP emerging as the leading party, securing 39 seats in the 100-member legislature, followed by the PUK with 23 seats. As no single party won a majority, a governing coalition will need to be formed, as has traditionally been the case.
Talabani reaffirmed on Sunday that talks between the PUK and KDP “are ongoing.” He added that senior KDP figure and head of the party’s government formation delegation, Hoshyar Zebari, had visited Sulaimani, where they discussed holding “another meeting between the KDP and PUK this week to move forward with the formation of the tenth cabinet of Kurdistan.”
Following their latest meeting, a PUK figure told Rudaw that the two parties have yet to agree on the allocation of key government posts.
Talabani stated that the distribution of posts will be clarified when announced but did not provide further details.
Meanwhile, Kurdish opposition parties have been working since early May to form a united front for Iraq’s November 2025 legislative election, seemingly to challenge the Kurdish ruling parties at the federal level.
The opposition groups include the New Generation Movement led by Shaswar Abdulwahid, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) led by Salahadin Bahadin, the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) led by Ali Bapir, the Halwest movement led by Ali Hama Saleh, and the People’s Front (Baray Gal) led by Lahur Talabany.
These groups performed modestly in the Kurdistan Region’s October vote. The New Generation won 15 seats, KIU seven, Halwest four, Komal three, and Baray Gal two in the 100-member parliament.
However, in a surprising turn, the National Stance Movement (Halwest) announced its withdrawal from the talks last week, accusing some parties of engaging in separate discussions with Baghdad.
At the time, Shadman Hassan, a member of the Lahur Talabany-led People’s Front (Baray Gal), told Rudaw that the alliance seeks to consolidate Kurdish opposition votes and remains open to cooperation with any group, except the KDP and the PUK. It remains to be seen whether this condition will persist.
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