On Wednesday, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani called on all parties boycotting today’s session of the Kurdistan Region Parliament to join and serve the people of the Kurdistan Region.

“The reactivation of Parliament is a step toward protecting and strengthening the Kurdistan Region. It is not directed against any person or party. Rather, it serves the supreme interests of the people of Kurdistan and the political process,” he said in a statement.

“Now that Parliament has resumed its work, I call on the respected parties that did not participate in this process to join us. By working together, we can serve the people of Kurdistan and support the next steps in the political process.”

He also congratulated the people of Kurdistan, the Parliament’s Presidency Board, and all political parties on the reactivation of the parliament.

“Two years after the Kurdistan Region’s elections, Parliament has been reactivated. I thank the members of parliament who took a stand and fulfilled their legal and national duties to restore the work of this constitutional institution,” he said.

In its first session in over two years, the Kurdistan Region Parliament elected the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Vala Fareed as speaker and Christian lawmaker and former Ankawa mayor Ramy Syawish as deputy speaker, and re-elected Turkmen lawmaker Muna Kahveci as parliament secretary after reaching the legal quorum.

The Kurdistan Region has been without an active parliament for two years despite holding elections on October 20, 2024.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and a number of opposition parties did not attend the parliament meeting, while 52 members of parliament, including the KDP members, backed the session.