PUK, KDP resume talks to form new Kurdish government

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) held a new round of talks in Erbil as part of ongoing negotiations to form the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The meeting brought together negotiating delegations from both parties and follows a series of earlier sessions aimed at narrowing political differences and reaching an agreement on the distribution of key positions and the formation of the new cabinet.

Earlier this month, a senior PUK official declared that he 50-50 power-sharing agreement between the PUK and the KDP no longer reflects the political reality of the Region.

More than six months after parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region, no new government has been formed amid political deadlock. Repeated meetings between the Region’s two leading parties —the KDP and PUK— have so far failed to resolve the impasse, prolonging the power vacuum.

Disagreements have largely centered around high-level executive and administrative posts, raising concerns about potential repercussions for the Region’s economy, its relationship with Baghdad and neighboring countries, and overall public sentiment.

This is not the first time the formation of a new KRG has faced delays. Previous terms have also witnessed prolonged periods of political tug-of-war, with negotiations often stretching for months and marked by recurring disputes that have complicated consensus-building efforts.