By Surkew Mohammed
Cabinet formation negotiations have not yielded any result yet. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) seeks a ministry in Baghdad and a Kirkuk governor in exchange for its participation. To remove the obstacles, Masoud Barzani, former president of the Kurdistan region and current leader of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has sent a message to PUK.
Barzani seeks to secure a trouble-free four years for his older son as a prime minister, Masrour Barzani, in his first civil role after leaving his security position.
Masrour Barzani promises "a strong and different" government. His party has secured 45 out of 111 seats in parliament. With minority seats, KDP is theoretically able to form a government alone.
PUK's bet is the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad and Kirkuk governor, directly linking them to the formation of the new cabinet. The party attempts to yield some results through "an inclusive and long-term agreement" with KDP, who disagrees.
A high-ranking and informed source close to the negotiations claims that KDP is closer to the Change Movement. KDP has an eye on a four-year agreement with the other parties in the government, not a long-term one.
The source told Peregraf, "Two days ago, kak [honorary title] Masoud invited Saadi Ahmed Pira [PUK spokesman], asking PUK to differentiate the cabinet formation of KRG between Kirkuk and Baghdad posts."
Pira is to discuss Barzani's request in the next meeting of PUK's Political Bureau.
The source said KDP tends to be lenient on PUK's requests concerning Kirkuk governor and Iraq's Ministry of Justice, "However, not in the way that PUK wants. KDP wants first to demilitarize Kirkuk and resolve the issue with Baghdad."
Masoud Barzani was expected to visit Sulaimaniyah and meet both PUK and Change to discuss the government formation. However, "an unclear reason" interrupted the venture, "It might be related to the distances that exist between KDP and PUK in the government formation."
Another issue between KDP and PUK is the share of Change in the government. While PUK asks for 40% of the new cabinet, KDP favours points-system, where each party has a share according to the number of its seats.
PUK does not want Change to grab a larger share in the government. A larger share would help PUK to find a suitable balance between the different wings inside the party. However, KDP insists on the participation of Change, according to the source, "Change has the same desire."
While PUK's stand is not public, "PUK has told the KDP: “We've ended Change, and now you want to resurrect them through the government."
Change officials confirmed PUK's stand about them, while Pira, PUK spokesman, rejected to speak to Peregraf on the matter.
Barzani: The era of obstacles has gone
PUK has spoken to PUK and Change numerous times, but three months have passed without any result. Earlier this month, while negotiations were ongoing, Barzani said the era of 50-50 is gone, referring to the time when PUK and KDP were assigning positions in the government equally.
Barzani also said changes are coming, "All the obstacles and 50-50 have gone, KDP wants to use the trust of people," he added, "However, KDP does not want to return to the way the government was working in the past."
Although KDP could easily validate the new cabinet through the absolute majority inside parliament with 45 seats and 11 seats of minority groups, 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 Change.
While PUK has been an essential element inside the cabinets of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) since 1992, Change Movement started as opposition in 2009 and has later joined the government in 2014.
KDP signed a strategic agreement with PUK in 2007, where they allocated government positions with equal shares, known as 50-50 government. However, such a deal started to unravel with the emergence of Change Movement.
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.