Peregraf- Surkew Mohammed
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has decided to hold an early congress on September 27. The meeting’s main goal is to end Lahur Sheikh Jangi’s career within the party. In doing so, it will formally abolish the co-presidency system and make Bafel Talabani the undisputed leader of the PUK.
At the last congress in 2019, Sheikh Jangi won the most individual votes in the election for the General Leadership Council, forcing Talabani to make a compromise and share power. This arrangement lasted a little over a year before Talabani pushed out his rival on July 8, 2021. Sheikh Jangi was eventually expelled from the party.
"The main target of the congress is Sheikh Jangi, who is still trying to return and work on behalf of the PUK. The congress will completely and legally separate Sheikh Jangi and his close associates from the PUK," a senior PUK source told Peregraf. They will not be allowed to attend.
Sheikh Jangi's big mistake
The events of July 8 brought about rapid changes within the PUK. Before then, Sheikh Jangi had many supporters within the party, but they have gradually ebbed away as Talabani has consolidated power. Now only a few remain loyal to the ousted co-president.
But it was a close-run thing. Sulaimaniyah was tense in the days after Talabani made his move. Residents worried about the possibility of armed clashes between supporters of the two men. Thankfully, neither side resorted to violence, but Talabani used the media to accuse Sheikh Jangi and his brothers of committing serious crimes.
Under this tremendous pressure, Sheikh Jangi made a decisive political mistake. On July 15, he relinquished power to Talabani. He claimed that the transfer was merely temporary until the party could amend its internal rules, but the damage to his standing was enormous.
"After signing the handover of powers, a member of the PUK Politburo told Kak Lahur that the signature was the biggest mistake of his political life," an informed source told Peregraf, using a vernacular way of referring to Sheikh Jangi.
Later, Talabani and the PUK Politburo issued a directive expelling Sheikh Jangi and several allies from the party.
Sheikh Jangi’s removal has been challenged in several ways, sometimes by entities outside the PUK.
On February 1, the Erbil Security Court sent a letter to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) stating that the PUK is run by two co-presidents, Talabani and Sheikh Jangi.
The PUK’s leadership decried the ruling as "political [and] illegal" and accused the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of using the court for to meddle in the PUK’s internal affairs. The letter also raised questions about whether Sheikh Jangi had become close with the leadership of the KDP, despite his reputation as a fierce critic of the Erbil-based party.
The court’s letter came just two days after IHEC rejected a complaint filed by Sheikh Jangi arguing that Talabani’s changes to the rules of the PUK, including the abolition of the co-presidency system, were improper.
At the time, Sheikh Jangi vowed to fight on. He wrote a letter to Talabani and the party warning that he intended to resume his post as co-president.
"All our political rights have been restored by the court decision. If our comrades are not ready to work together, we will have to continue our political activities separately and under the name of the PUK," he wrote.
Talabani and the party leadership reacted mostly by ignoring him.
"Kak Lahur still has ambitions within the PUK and wants to use the party's popular, economic, and historical strength for his political life. But Mam Jalal's family has cut him off from everything in the PUK," said a second PUK source, referring to late party leader Jalal Talabani. Bafel Talabani is his eldest son.
The expected outcome of the upcoming congress will prevent Sheikh Jangi from using the PUK name and from running under its banner in future elections.
What will Sheikh Jangi do?
The PUK notorious for splitting into factions, so the episode involving Sheikh Jangi has precedent. For example, Nawshirwan Mustafa led a splinter group away from the party to found the Change Movement (Gorran) in 2009. They ended up winning 25 seats in elections that year.
After Jalal Talabani suffered a stroke in 2012, the PUK became directionless without firm leadership at the top. This created room for Sheikh Jangi to challenge the established powers within the party, including Bafel Talabani.
While his power is vastly reduced following July 8, 2021, Sheikh Jangi still clearly has political ambitions.
In March this year, he visited officials from Gorran, the Kurdistan Justice Group (KJG), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU). In press releases, he described himself as the PUK "co-president," but his interlocuters did not identify him in that way in their own accounts of the meetings.
Sheikh Jangi floated several ways to run a list during the upcoming provincial elections in Kirkuk, which are scheduled for December 18. However, those plans were abandoned and he has announced that he will not field candidates after all.
Regional elections for the Kurdistan Parliament, which are currently scheduled for February 25, 2024, present another possible opportunity if he wants to return.
"Kak Lahur will certainly participate in the elections, but it is too early to discuss the methods and mechanisms of participation," a source close to Sheikh Jangi told Peregraf.
One possibility is that he will form an alliance with other opposition parties and dissidents for that election, but the PUK will likely keep a close eye on such developments and move to counter them.