Politics

‘Iraq first country to negotiate referendum with’

Main Kurdish ruling parties in the Kurdistan Region will restart negotiations with the Federal Government of Iraq on implementing Kurds’ demands.

Kurdistan 24 2016/04/17 10:51

kurdistan Kurdistan Iraq Baghdad Kurds KRG KDP PUK

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Main Kurdish ruling parties in the Kurdistan Region will restart negotiations with the Federal Government of Iraq on implementing Kurds’ demands, said the Kurdish ruling parties on Saturday.

Currently, Iraq is facing a political turmoil as several parties have failed to reach an agreement in parliament on forming the newly nominated technocrat cabinet and reforms that the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi is trying to implement.

On Saturday, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the two main ruling parties of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), held a meeting led by the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani.

Following the meeting, the two parties released a statement declaring that KRG delegates will restart negotiations with Baghdad. The negotiations will aim to resolve the roots of the issues between the two sides and bring all the demands of the Kurdistan Region people on the table.

The parties expressed their opinions for a solution to the current political turmoil in Baghdad urging the establishing of consensus and a real partnership in the government.

The statement also mentioned that agreement should be based on trust, and the federal government must have the ability to implement the demands of all components of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region.

Additionally, the Kurdish parties will attempt to keep the unity of the Kurdish voice in Baghdad. They also plan to solve the political instability in the Kurdistan Region by distributing governmental posts based on the result of elections.

KDP and PUK also highlighted the Kurdish referendum that is planned to be held in 2016. The statement explained that referendum is a democratic right of the people of Kurdistan.

“The first party and country that we believe is crucial to have a dialogue with on referendum are the parties, parliament and the Federal Government of Iraq,” the statement concluded.

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany