Delegations of top Kurdistan parties in Baghdad on gov't formation talks

The talks are in their early stages and have thus not resulted in any agreements, political sources explained to Kurdistan 24.
The logos of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), (left), and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). (Graphic by Kurdistan 24)
The logos of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), (left), and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). (Graphic by Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The top parties of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq's October election have sent delegations to Baghdad to hold government formation talks with leading Iraqi political forces.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) negotiating team held its first meeting in the national capital with the head of the Alliance for Progress, Mohamed al-Halbousi, who was parliament speaker in the legislature's previous session.

The Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, is leading the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) delegation. He has met with Iraqi President Barham Salih and National Wisdom Movement head Ammar al-Hakim.

The talks are in their early stages and have thus not resulted in any agreements, political sources explained to Kurdistan 24. "The goal of the discussions is to reach understandings," they added.

The Sadrist Movement of Muqtada al-Sadr and other leading Shia parties are sending delegations to the Kurdistan Region this week for more talks, the source said.

Related Article: Iraq's electoral commission announces final results of October vote

The final results of the October vote showed that the bloc of Sadr topped the list with 73 seats, the Progress Party came in second with 37 seats, and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law Coalition won 33 seats. The KDP has secured 31