Outgoing Kurdistan parl. to hold final session as govt. formation talks near

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s outgoing Parliament is set to hold its final session on Wednesday as leading parties prepare for government formation talks following the Sep. 30 elections.

Lawmakers on their way out are to discuss the end of the fourth iteration of Kurdistan Region’s parliament following a speech by first deputy speaker of the house, Jaafar Eminki, on the conclusion of their duties as MPs, according to a statement by parliament.

In the 2018 elections, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) topped the polls, winning 45 seats, a seven-seat increase from the previous term, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) rose to 21 from its earlier 18. Both parties approved the final results of the election.

The two main winners have formed delegations ready to enter talks with other parliamentary factions, although exact timelines are yet to be given.

The parties that rejected the results are Gorran, winner of 12 seats, New Generation, which won eight seats, and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), part of the Toward Reform Coalition, who won five.

In the outgoing parliament, Gorran had twice as many seats, 24, compared to their showing this election, and the KIU alone had ten.

In 2017, lawmakers reactivated parliament and extended its term by eight months after a two-year freeze as a result of disputes between then leading factions, the KDP and Change Movement (Gorran).

Editing by Nadia Riva