ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met Sunday with Barham Salih, chief negotiator of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, but no breakthrough was reported over whether the PUK would be part of the next Kurdish government.
After the talks with Barzani, who as a leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has been tasked with putting together a coalition government, Salih said that the main hurdle to the PUK participating in the new cabinet remains his party’s demand for the interior ministry.
“We have spoken at length about forming the government,” said Salih. “Both sides have stressed that as soon as possible a broad-based and active government be formed for our people.”
Speaking for his party, Barzani said: “We would like the PUK to be part of the new government. They have their own views which we respect. But we also believe that their participation in the government is essential.”
At the end of their talks – seemingly the last before a government is announced -- Salih and Barzani told the media that both sides would think over the proposals and provide an answer in the next few days.
However, the KDP reportedly is unwilling to give control of the important interior ministry to the PUK, and sources say it is likely to yield instead to giving away the post of deputy parliament speaker.
Last week, the KDP said it had signed the final agreement for the next Kurdish government with two other parties, the Change Movement (Gorran) and the Islamic League (Komal), implying the cabinet would be formed with or without the PUK.
The negotiations over the next cabinet, still ongoing seven months after the September 21 elections for the Kurdish parliament, have turned into a circus for Kurds following the negotiations.
Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani has declared that the new government will be announced before Iraq’s nationwide legislative elections on April 30.
“The president has asked that a government be formed before this month’s elections and the KDP wants the PUK to be part of this government,” the premier said.
The delay over the cabinet is largely due to the PUK’s poor showing in the September elections. It lost its position as Kurdistan’s second-largest party, falling behind its rival, Gorran.
Talks have been deadlocked over the PUK’s insistence on key security posts that other parties do not feel it deserves any longer, given the lesser seats it now has in parliament.
Hakim Qadir, a senior PUK leader, said his party insists on getting the interior ministry, his comments echoing Salih’s, who said after meeting with Barzani that the PUK perceives getting the interior ministry as its right.
There has been speculation that the PUK may boycott the government and choose to become an active opposition, but some PUK leaders say that is unlikely.
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