PUK Quits Kurdistan Government, Threatens to Name Rival Leaders

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has walked out of the government of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, deepening a two-year standoff with its larger rival and raising the prospect of competing administrations in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.

In a recorded video message on Thursday, PUK president Bafel Talabani said the decision took effect immediately. “As of this minute, we are withdrawing from this failed government that calls itself the government of Kurdistan,” he said.

The message followed a roughly two-hour meeting of the PUK Leadership Council, which granted him full authority. PUKMEDIA, the party’s outlet, published the full text.

Conditional Threat of Parallel Leadership

Talabani said the PUK would not accept the outcome of Wednesday’s parliamentary session. “We do not recognise any government or position that comes out of this,” he said.

He then set out a warning aimed at the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). “You appoint a President of the Region, we will appoint a President of the Region. You appoint ministers, we will appoint ministers. You appoint a Prime Minister, we will appoint a Prime Minister.”

No rival government has been formed. Talabani did not explain how parallel institutions would function, and the security implications were not immediately clear.

Allegations Against the KDP

Talabani accused a minority within the KDP of using public funds to buy and threaten lawmakers. He also alleged that the KDP was mobilizing forces along the boundaries of party-controlled zones and demanded that it stop.

He pledged there would be no bloodshed. He said he had traveled to Erbil more than 15 times for talks that collapsed repeatedly.

The PUK had sat in the ninth cabinet since 2019, with Talabani’s brother Qubad Talabani serving as deputy prime minister. A full list of ministerial resignations has not been made public.

Disputed Parliament Session

The trigger was Wednesday’s sitting of the Kurdistan Parliament in Erbil. Lawmakers elected a leadership after nearly two years of political paralysis that followed a December 2024 inaugural session, which failed to choose a speaker.

Fifty-two of the 100 members attended, one above the quorum. They unanimously elected Vala Farid, head of the KDP’s parliamentary bloc, as speaker, with Rami Noori as deputy and Muna Qahwachi as secretary.

The PUK and the New Generation Movement boycotted the session, calling it unilateral. Three lawmakers from each party’s list attended in defiance of instructions. Several smaller groups, including the Kurdistan Islamic Union and Gorran, also stayed away.

KDP Position

KDP spokesman Mahmoud Mohammed said after the sitting that the move was “not against any person or party, and the door remains open to everyone.” He accused the PUK and New Generation of paralyzing parliament.

KDP leader Masoud Barzani said the reactivation was not directed at any party and urged the boycotting blocs to return. Farid said the session complied with the law. The KDP had not responded to Talabani’s speech at the time of reporting.

Two Years of Deadlock

The KDP won 39 seats in the October 2024 election, against 23 for the PUK and 15 for New Generation. The PUK and New Generation later formed an alliance, but the KDP refused to negotiate with them as a single bloc.

With no new cabinet agreed, the government led by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani since 2019 stayed in place. Nechirvan Barzani remains president of the region. The cabinet’s legal status is being challenged before Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court, which has not ruled.

The standoff comes as Washington recalibrates its role in Iraq. U.S. President Donald Trump has consulted Iraqi Kurdish leaders, including Talabani and Masoud Barzani, while the U.S. moves to end its military presence in Iraq.

The two parties ran rival administrations after a civil war in the 1990s. A 1998 peace deal ended the fighting, and the administrations were formally reunited in 2006.