Senior Kurdish leaders this week met with the UK’s Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hitchen and discussed the formation of the next government in the Kurdistan Region after the October 20 elections.
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Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Ambassador Hickey discussed efforts and preparations for forming the KRG’s new cabinet, the general situation in Iraq, and the complex situation in the Middle East.
According to the KRG readout, both officials emphasized the importance of forming the new cabinet as soon as possible.
Prime Minister Barzani reiterated that he has “no veto against the participation of any party and that the aim is to establish a comprehensive, strong, and unified government based on the election results and the votes of the political parties.”
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Moreover, President Masoud Barzani in a separate meeting with the UK Ambassador “stressed that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) does not place a veto on any party regarding the formation of the government, stressing the need for talks to be within the framework of the existence of one region, one Parliament, one government, and one peshmerga force.”
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani received Ambassador Hitchen on Thursday, the Kurdistan Region Presidency said in a readout.
During the meeting, both parties “reiterated the significance of collaborative efforts among the various political factions and emphasized the need for timely action in establishing a new cabinet for the KRG.”
The KDP has formed a team to discuss the formation and agenda of the new government, after it won 39 seats out of 100.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan won 23 seats and the opposition party New Generation took 15 seats.
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Several diplomatic missions have urged the Kurdish political parties to swiftly form a new government, although this might take time, since none of the parties have the 50+1 majority in Parliament needed to form a government.
