MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Kurdistan’s KDP to sign gov. formation deal with PUK on Sunday: Official

SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ) – ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A high-level delegation of the Kurdistan Region’s leading party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), on Sunday will visit Sulaimani to meet with officials from its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), to sign a new agreement which would finalize the formation of the next regional cabinet, a senior PUK official said on Saturday.

According to the member of the PUK’s leadership council who spoke to Kurdistan 24 on condition of anonymity, the KDP will also conduct a separate meeting with the Gorran Movement while in Sulaimani.

He added that the KDP delegation will be headed by Nechirvan Barzani, the incumbent Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, specifying, “The KDP and the PUK will sign the final deal on Sunday about the formation of the new government.”

Various meetings continue between the three factions, seven months after last year’s parliamentary election that was held in the autonomous Kurdistan Region.

Previously, the KDP signed separate agreements with the PUK and Gorran that were also described as final deals, but disagreement grew after the PUK demanded additional posts in the cabinet, a move which also strained relations with Gorran.

On September 30, the Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary election, with parties competing for representation in the 111-seat parliament. The KDP came out on top by securing 45 seats, followed by the PUK with 21 seats and Gorran with 12.

The KDP has already nominated Masrour Barzani, the current Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), as the prime minister to form the new KRG cabinet and Nechirvan Barzani as their candidate for the newly reinstated post of President of the Kurdistan Region.

Editing by John J. Catherine