Powerful Kurdish party withdraws from KRG leaving cracks in northern Iraq's government
A powerful Kurdish party in Iraq announced it is to withdraw from the northern Kurdistan Regional Government ( KRG ), deepening a political crisis with its longtime rival and raising fears of a return to parallel administrations in the region. The move came after the Kurdistan parliament convened for the first time in nearly two years and elected a Speaker despite a boycott by the Patriotic Union…
The powerful Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraq has announced it will withdraw from the northern Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), intensifying a political crisis with its long-standing rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). This comes after the Kurdistan parliament held its first session in nearly two years, electing a Speaker despite a boycott by the PUK and allied parties, which demanded further negotiations over senior government positions.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani accused elements within the KDP of disregarding democratic principles and ignoring voter will. He warned that any unilateral actions by the KDP to establish a new regional leadership would be met with reciprocal actions by the PUK in its stronghold of Sulaimaniyah. The PUK would not recognize the parliamentary session or anything that emerges from it.
The dispute threatens to unravel the power-sharing arrangement that has underpinned Kurdish self-rule since 2006, resulting from years of deep mistrust between the two dominant Kurdish parties.
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