PUK and Gorran to reintegrate after years of rivalries
Two Kurdish political parties are expected to unite and act as one party after seven years of political rivalries in the Kurdistan Region, said a PUK source on Thursday.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Two Kurdish political parties are expected to unite and act as one party after seven years of political rivalries in the Kurdistan Region, said a PUK source on Thursday.
Gorran Movement and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the second and third largest political parties in the Kurdistan Region are expected to reintegrate.
Gorran and PUK have joint efforts to form a united political party and have established a Common Leadership Committee for making preparations until they reach an advanced level of implementing political agreements.
Gorran (meaning change in Kurdish) was founded in 2009 by former Deputy Head of PUK, Nawshirwan Mustafa to investigate allegations of corruption and nepotism inside PUK. Gorran participated in two parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region and by winning 25 seats in 2009 elections, and 24 seats in 2013 elections, they became the second largest party in the Region after Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
A PUK source who wanted to remain anonymous stated that Gorran and PUK will not invite any other political party to be part of this agreement because the foundation of this agreement was for the reintegration of both parties.
Moreover, Daban Mohamad, the son of Gorran's head of diplomatic relations, stated on his official Facebook account, “expect the steps and surprises of Nawshirwan Mustafa after Ramadan Eid.”
On June 17, 2016, Gorran and PUK, with the participation of the Head of PUK Jalal Talabani signed a 25-article agreement in Talabani’s home in Dabashan, Sulaimani. According to the agreement, both parties will join efforts in both Kurdistan Region and Iraq to deal with the current issues in the Region, and the relations with Baghdad.
Editing by Ava Homa
(Additional reporting by Mewan Dolamari)