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 of Kurdistan (PUK) and allied parties, which had demanded further negotiations over the distribution of senior government positions.

Announcing the decision in a video statement, PUK leader Bafel Talabani said his party had decided to "withdraw from this failed government", accusing elements within the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in Iraqi Kurdistan, of disregarding democratic principles and ignoring the will of voters.

"A minority within the KDP proved today that they do not know what democracy is, that they hold zero respect for you, the voters," said Mr Talabani. The PUK would not recognise the parliamentary session "or anything that emerges from this", he added.

He warned that any unilateral steps by the KDP to establish a new regional leadership would be met with reciprocal action by the PUK in its stronghold of Sulaimaniyah.

"If they appoint a president of the region, we will appoint a president of the region. If they appoint a prime minister, we will appoint a prime minister," Mr Talabani said. "Whatever you do over there, we will do right here."

The announcement comes a day after the KRG parliament session boycotted by the PUK and allied parties that had pushed for the KDP to postpone it until an agreement can be reached on the appointment of top cabinet positions.

The vote proceeded with 52 of the 100 politicians present, meeting the 51-member quorum requirement. Vala Farid, head of the KDP parliamentary bloc, was elected as Speaker.

A senior KRG official told The National that Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) accused the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Friday of obstructing the democratic process and rejected calls by PUK leader Bafel Talabani for the separation of Sulaimani province from the autonomous Kurdistan Region.

"The Kurdistan Region is not the property of any individual or political party, and no one has the right to decide its future unilaterally," the official said in a statement.

The dispute threatens to unravel a power-sharing arrangement that has underpinned Kurdish self-rule since the rival factions formally reunited their administrations in 2006 after years of conflict.

The collapse of power-sharing talks is not simply the result of a recent disagreement, but the culmination of years of deep mistrust between the two dominant Kurdish parties, said Victoria Taylor, a former US deputy assistant secretary for Iraq and director of the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative.

"I had numerous discussions with KDP and PUK leadership while I was still at the State Department and then with the Atlantic Council. At various points, the two sides appeared close to reaching a compromise. Put simply, they just don't trust each other," she said.

US President Donald Trump's administration took a different approach, Ms Taylor said. Washington became less interested in acting as an intermediary between Kurdish factions, leaving the parties to resolve their disputes alone.

The announcement comes at the time when Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi met Mr Trump's special envoy for Iraq, Tom Barrack, in Baghdad, on Friday. During the meeting, Mr Barrack said Washington "is proud to stand with Iraq by deepening economic and trade relations, opening doors for both American companies and Iraqi talent, and building prosperity that benefits everyone".

Iraq was choosing "sovereignty over dependency, investment over stagnation, and partnership over proxy", while pledging closer economic and commercial co-operation between the countries.