On the sidelines of the Middle East Peace and Security Forum (MEPS 2025), top Iraqi and Kurdish leaders discussed next steps and the government formation after the final results of last week’s Iraqi parliamentary elections were announced on Monday.

During the MEPS Forum, which is organized by the American University of Kurdistan in Duhok, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani spoke with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and President Masoud Barzani.

Furthermore, meetings were held with prominent members of several Iraqi political parties and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council Judge Faiq Zaidan, during which the officials discussed convening the new Iraqi parliament and forming Iraq’s next government.

During his speech at the MEPS Forum, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani announced that his coalition is part of the Shi’a Coordination Framework, “which decided in its meeting yesterday to form the largest parliamentary bloc.” 

Furthermore, he stressed that a second term is not a personal ambition, but rather a readiness to assume responsibility to complete a project that has already begun.

On Monday, the Independent High Electoral Commission announced that Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition led in the Iraqi elections, winning 46 seats. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led among the Kurdish parties, with 27 seats. 

After the announcement of the results, the majority of the parties in the Shi’a Coordination Framework had a meeting attended by the Prime Minister to discuss the election results.

“[The coalition] will soon begin negotiations with the other parties within the national space to lay the groundwork for constitutional obligations and the formation of the presidencies – this is the path we believe in,” Prime Minister al-Sudani said.

He also underlined that “there is significant understanding between the federal government and the KRG, and joint technical teams are actively working to resolve outstanding issues. Our government gives equal priority to the needs of citizens in the Kurdistan Region as it does to citizens in all other provinces.”

During the meeting between President Masoud Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani, the officials exchanged congratulations on the successful completion of the Iraqi parliamentary election process, which took place without any major issues.

Both officials expressed their hope that the election results would serve the interests of the people of Iraq.

Another part of the meeting highlighted the need to amend the election law in order to ensure more accurate representation, after both al-Sudani’s coalition and the KDP got over 1 million votes, but the number of seats awarded did not reflect the number of votes.

“One [priority] is amending the electoral law, because, in our view, the current law is unjust and contains many flaws – many eligible people were deprived of votes while others undeservedly benefited. We will seriously work with other sides to correct this law,” President Barzani said during the MEPS Forum. 

Furthermore, during a separate meeting between KRG Prime Minister Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani, the two officials also discussed the elections. According to the Iraqi Prime Minister’s media office, both officials discussed a review of the upcoming post-election entitlements. Moreover, they affirmed the desire to coordinate to continue reform, reconstruction and “adherence to the constitution as the fundamental reference for protecting state institutions and ensuring citizens’ rights,” the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office said.

Furthermore, both sides discussed the importance of resolving outstanding issues – similar to the recent agreement between Erbil, Baghdad, and international oil companies to resume oil exports through Turkey – as well as “deliver revenues to the federal treasury, and pay the KRG’s financial obligations, including employee salaries.”

According to the KRG readout, during the meeting emphasis was placed on the importance of providing salaries and meeting the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements. The September salaries for public servants in the Kurdistan Region remain undelivered. 

The KRG readout said that Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani reaffirmed that the Kurdistan Region’s salaries for this year will be paid in accordance with existing agreements, and that the Kurdistan Region will receive its share of next year’s budget within the framework of the federal public budget.