Could Iraq’s Kurdish region return to two separate administrations?
Summary
A dispute between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) over forming a government has raised the possibility of rival administrations in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region. The KDP reactivated the regional parliament without the PUK, which then withdrew from the government; analysts say the split is serious, though the article reports no recent violent flare-ups between the parties.Key Facts
- The KDP and PUK have traditionally shared power in the Kurdistan Regional Government.
- The regional parliament met in Erbil without PUK participation after a two-year delay.
- PUK leader Bafel Talabani withdrew his party from the government after the parliamentary session.
- The KDP is strongest in Erbil and Dohuk, while the PUK’s base is in Sulaimaniyah.
- In the October 20, 2024, regional election, the KDP won 39 seats and the PUK won 23.
- The New Generation Movement won 15 seats, and the KDP needed an agreement with the PUK or other parties to form a government.
- The region previously had separate local governments in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah during conflict between the KDP and PUK in the 1990s.
- Iraq’s post-2003 constitution recognizes the Kurdish region as a federal entity with legislative, executive, and judicial powers.
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