PUK, New Generation challenge Kurdistan Parliament session
Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the New Generation Movement have jointly filed a lawsuit in Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court seeking to annul the November 4 session of the Kurdistan Parliament, New Generation spokesperson Himdad Shahin told Shafaq News on Tuesday.
He did not specify the grounds for the challenge.
The session brought lawmakers back to parliament after a prolonged deadlock, with 52 of the chamber’s 100 members attending. They elected Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) nominee Vala Fareed as speaker, Christian representative Ramy Noori Syawish as deputy speaker, and Turkmen representative Muna Qahveci as secretary.
The proceedings went ahead despite official boycotts by the PUK, the New Generation Movement, and other parties. The KDP defended the move as necessary to resume parliamentary activity and safeguard the Kurdistan Region’s constitutional status.
Parliament had been unable to elect its leadership since its first session in December 2024, following elections that October in which the KDP secured 39 seats, the PUK 23, and the New Generation Movement 15. Disagreements over government formation and senior positions prolonged the impasse.
Last Thursday, PUK President Bafel Talabani announced his party’s withdrawal from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and rejected the November 4 session’s results, arguing that the proceedings lacked political consensus.
