2026-11-09T13:15:37+00:00
Shafaq News- Erbil
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani called on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Monday to help end the political crisis in the Kurdistan Region (KRI) and form a broad-based government, stressing that the interests of the Kurdish people must take precedence over all other political interests and objectives.
In a statement, Barzani also called for other political parties to participate in the political process and work together to form a broad-based national government capable of addressing the demands and needs of the Kurdish people.
Meanwhile, the Christian Coalition supported Barzani’s initiative, urging political forces to respond to the call for dialogue and reach a national agreement that preserves political unity and restores the functioning of institutions.
In a statement, the coalition said the interests of the people of Kurdistan and the protection of the KRI’s political entity and institutions were shared responsibilities that should take precedence over party interests and political disagreements.
The coalition also stressed that national partnership must guarantee the rights of established communities, particularly Chaldean, Assyrian, Syriac, and Armenian Christians, including fair representation in the Kurdistan Regional Government and decision-making institutions and the right to choose their own representatives.
It also renewed its demand that voting for Christian quota seats be restricted to Christian voters in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, saying the community’s rights should not be subject to political bargaining.
The Kurdistan Parliament resumed its work on November 4, electing its leadership in a session attended by 52 of its 100 members. Vala Fareed, nominated by the KDP, was elected speaker, while Rami Nouri, representing the Christian component, became deputy speaker, and Mona Qahwaji, representing the Turkmen component, was elected parliament secretary.
The session took place amid an official boycott by the PUK, the New Generation Movement, and other political forces. The KDP described the parliament’s reactivation as a necessary step toward protecting the region’s constitutional status and ending institutional paralysis.
The parliament had remained deadlocked since the October 20, 2024, elections, in which the KDP won 39 seats, followed by the PUK with 23 and the New Generation Movement with 15.
Disputes over government formation and the distribution of senior positions prevented lawmakers from completing the election of the parliamentary leadership after the first session in December 2024.
Tensions escalated following the election of the new parliamentary leadership, with PUK President Bafel Talabani announcing last Thursday that his party would withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and reject the parliamentary session and its outcomes, arguing that the procedures lacked genuine political consensus.
Source: Shafaq News
