Conflicts popping up between parties sharing power in Iraq’s Kurdistan region

Mohamed Shaath

Despite attempts to contain differences between the two parties sharing power in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, namely the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party, these differences keep popping up every now and then.

This happens because of the decisive nature of these differences.

The two sides held multiple meetings in the past period, opening the door for optimism about resolving the crisis between them.

Nonetheless, some differences seem to stand in the way of a consensus.

Absent consensus

The US administration stepped into the crisis as part of international efforts to contain the dispute between the two parties.

White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, Brett McGurk, met Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Bafel Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Delegations of the two parties met in January this year, for the first time, since the boycott of the ministers of the Patriotic Union.

In early March, the two parties reached an agreement on amending the electoral law in the region, and the adoption of four districts according to the number of governorates of the region.

This marked the beginning of ending tensions between the two parties.

In late March, the president of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Nechervan Idris Barzani, issued a decree to set a date for the parliamentary elections.

He decided the date to be November 2023. The elections were scheduled to be held in October 2022.

The postponement of the elections came after the parliament of Kurdistan voted to extend its legislative term for one year.

Existing disagreements

Wafa Mohamed, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, referred to many differences between the Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union Party.

“These differences are related to the military and security departments, institutions and bodies in Sulaymaniyah governorate,” Mohamed told The Reference.

She added that these entities do not comply with the laws and the decisions of the Kurdistan Regional Government.