KDP, PUK delegations to meet in Erbil: Official 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Senior officials from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are set to convene in Erbil on Wednesday to discuss the latest political developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, a top official told Kurdistan 24. 

The meeting comes after the Kurdish political parties were invited to attend a “joint closed meeting” with the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMI) to Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, on Thursday. 

Read More: UNAMI head invites Kurdish parties for 'joint closed meeting'

The meeting will be chaired by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Dilshad Shahab, the senior advisor to the Kurdish president, told Kurdistan 24. 

Barzani recently visited Sulaimani to attend cadets’ graduation ceremony and also met with the heads of political parties to discuss the state of affairs. 

The Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections are scheduled to commence on Oct. 1. The KDP insists on holding the elections on time, while other parties call for changes in the electoral law.

The KDP and PUK both have competing candidates for the largely ceremonial role of the Iraqi presidency. The parties are also members of two different Iraqi alliances jostling to form a government nearly seven months after the elections.

Until they elect a president for the country, the political parties cannot choose a prime minister, who will later decree the “largest parliamentary bloc” to form the new government.