PUK, KDP arrange new inclusive agreement

11-12-2018 11:03
Led by deputy leader of PUK Kosrat Rasul, and deputy leader of KDP Nechirvan Barzani, the two parties met for a new agreement. Photo: Surkew Mohammed / Peregraf

 

By Surkew Mohammed

 

The two ruling parties of the Kurdistan region, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) agreed to conduct a new inclusive agreement and formed a committee to prepare the agreement.

 

The two parties have a long history of ruling and cooperation together, but their relationship took a turn last year, which has been worsening since then.

 

The two, led by deputy leader of the PUK, Kosrat Rasul and deputy leader of the KDP, Nechirvan Barzani, met on Tuesday, 11 December 2018 and decided to sign a new inclusive agreement.

 

For two months, the two parties have not met at leadership level, after the presidency of Iraq became the bone of contention.

 

Through informed sources, Peregraf learnt that KDP and PUK "agreed to conduct an inclusive agreement in principle". However, the details were not discussed, instead, a joint committee was tasked with its preparation.

 

After the meeting, they issued a four-point joint statement, where they insisted the rearrangement of their relationship in the Kurdistan region and Baghdad. Other issues included Kirkuk and the disputed areas.

A day before the meeting, Peregraf learnt from a source from the KDP leadership that the aim is to establish a new agreement between the two in order to form a new cabinet, "PUK insists on the details of the government formation, and an agreement on that purpose, with the KDP."

 

KDP is agreeable, under the condition that "all wings of PUK are compliant to it".

 

The delegation of PUK included representatives from the different wings of the party.

 

While KDP is expected to visit the other parties as part of its bid to form the government, the agreement declares forming a committee special to the ninth cabinet to secure stability and nationwide governance on the basis of law and partnership with all the parties that take part in the next cabinet.

 

PUK and KDP have been ruling through the so-called strategic agreement for eight years. Despite recent attempts at making amendments to the agreement, the disputes have prevented any changes.

 

The strategic agreement was signed in 2007, as they divided their authority over the Kurdistan region and Iraq through 50-50 shares. The agreement is considered null for the time being.

 

Winning 45 seats out of 111 seats of parliament, KDP says the agreement is outdated. PUK, with only 21 seats, agrees with the point but claims that other factors, such as history, struggle, geographic dominance and armed groups should be considered for ruling the region.

 

PUK has expressed criticism towards the strategic agreement recently, claiming it was not balanced.

 

The high-level meetings between KDP and PUK might lead to normalization of the situation in the Kurdistan region, especially as it came to a standstill due to the incidents of 16 October 2017, and the subsequent presidency disagreement.

 

The two parties have not been competing for responsibility of the Iraqi presidency for 13 years. However, when PUK's candidate, Barham Salih, happened to be president without the consent of the KDP, the relations became unpleasant. Barham Salih had already split from the PUK a year earlier. However, in order to fulfill the post of Iraqi presidency, he abandoned his newly-founded party and rejoined the PUK. This step proved to be costly to his political reputation within the Kurdistan Region. KDP has not recognized his presidency officially, and Salih has not visited Erbil and Duhok yet, from fear of being unwelcome.

 

In addition, the meeting is going to accelerate the formation of a new government. Although KDP could easily verify the new cabinet through the absolute majority inside parliament, the actual situation could prove to be risky, due to the remnants of dual administration. A stable government could not be formed without PUK and Gorran.

 

While PUK has been an essential element inside the cabinets of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) since 1992, Gorran has started as opposition in 2009, and has later joined the government in 2014.

 

PUK has officially decided to take part in the new cabinet; the New Generation [8 seats], the Kurdistan Islamic Union [5 seats] and the Communist Party [one seat] have decided to become the opposition. However, Gorran [12 seats], and Kurdistan Islamic Group [7 seats] have not taken a stand yet.