A delegation from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by politburo chief Fazil Mirani arrived in Sulaimani to meet with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by co-chair Bafel Talabani, to discuss election results and relations with Baghdad.
The purpose of their talks is to unify and organize the representation of Kurds “so that a crack that can be exploited by the enemy doesn’t form,” KDP spokesperson Mahmood Mohammed told reporters in a press conference after their meeting.
The KDP delegation plans to meet with all Kurdish parties, “even those who did not win a seat,” he added.
Iraqis voted in an early election last week. The KDP tied for third place with 33 seats, once again taking the position of largest Kurdish party in the Iraqi parliament, according to preliminary results released by the electoral commission.
The PUK, which won 16 seats, also emphasized the unity of Kurds in both Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, its spokesperson Amin Baba Sheikh told reporters.
The preliminary election results handed out unexpected wins and devastating blows. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr claimed victory after securing 72 spots in the 329-seat legislature. Sadr said they will work on building coalitions that are “national” and not “sectarian” in order to form a “serving government that will protect the homeland and its security, sovereignty, and the dignity of its people.”
He appears to be looking to form a mixed government, gathering the strongest parties of Shiites, Kurds, and Sunnis.
Since the US-led invasion of 2003 and the fall of the Baath regime, political power in Iraq has been divvied up between the main ethnic groups, with a Kurdish president, Shiite prime minister, and Sunni parliament speaker.
The PUK has held the presidency post in every government since then and Talabani on election day said they would nominate current President Barham Salih for a second term. KDP’s Mohammed on Monday said nothing has been decided yet. “The presidency is the share of Kurds … it’s the share of Kurdistan,” he said.
Iraq’s electoral commission is reviewing complaints about the vote and then will finalize the results. Once the results are ratified by the Supreme Court, a process of forming the government will be set in motion, as dictated by the constitution. Within 15 days, the president will call for a parliamentary meeting chaired by its eldest member to elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority. The parliament also elects a president by a two-thirds majority.
The president will then task the largest bloc in the parliament with forming the government, naming a prime minister within 15 days of the election of the president. The prime minister-elect then has 30 days to name a cabinet.
