(Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News)- KDP deputy leader Nechirvan Barzani (L) shakes hands with PUK acting leader Kosrat Rasul after signing a new agreement on Kurdistan government formation in Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan, May 5, 2019. Photo: NRT
SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— The Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK have signed an agreement that finalizes the latter’s participation in the new Iraqi Kurdistan government.
In the presence of many senior party members from both sides, the agreement was signed in Sulaimani by the deputy leader of the KDP, Nechirvan Barzani, and the acting Secretary-General of the PUK, Kosrat Rasul.
After inking the deal, Nechirvan Barzani said that the discussions had been lengthy and difficult.
“The KDP, the PUK, and Gorran have a complete agreement for forming the new government cabinet,” Barzani said.
The agreement came hours after meetings between a KDP delegation with members of the Gorran movement and the PUK.
PUK First Deputy Secretary General Kosrat Rasul described the agreement as historic and that the parties would all work together to implement it.
“We have reached an understanding and we hope that in the next few days we will start the process of forming the next cabinet by initially reviving the Kurdistan presidency law,” KDP spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed told reporters Sunday afternoon after the meeting between his party and Gorran.
The designation of posts in the new KRG cabinet was one of the main reasons the government formation had been delayed despite the aforementioned parties having signed prior deals.
The KDP has nominated current Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani as its candidate for the presidency.
218 days have passed over since the Kurdistan parliamentary election.
In September 2018, the autonomous Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary election, with parties competing for 111 seats in total. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won the election by securing 45 seats and was followed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with 21 seats and Gorran (Change) Movement with 12.