Sources: PUK Pressures Lawmakers to Boycott Parliament Sessions
Sources tell Kurdistan24 that MPs face intimidation over planned parliamentary sessions, while New Generation lawmakers are reportedly being prevented from attending
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has intensified efforts to prevent the reopening of the Kurdistan Parliament by allegedly threatening lawmakers from Sulaimani province and warning them against attending parliamentary sessions, according to sources who spoke to Kurdistan24 on Saturday.
The allegations come amid renewed political efforts to reactivate the Kurdistan Parliament after months of paralysis, with political parties engaged in negotiations over the legislature's return to work and the formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) tenth cabinet.
A source familiar with the matter told Kurdistan24 that the PUK has directly instructed its own lawmakers, as well as MPs from other political parties based in the Sulaimani administration, not to participate in any parliamentary session aimed at restoring the legislature's work.
According to the source, the warnings have escalated into what was described as "serious threats."
The source alleged that the PUK warned lawmakers that any member who defies the party's instructions would not only face consequences personally but that members of their immediate and extended families could also be subjected to repercussions.
Separately, another source told Kurdistan24 that all lawmakers from the New Generation Movement (NGM) have been relocated, without their consent, to designated locations in Sulaimani city and are being kept under close supervision.
The reported objective, according to the source, is to ensure that none of the lawmakers are able to travel to Erbil to participate in parliamentary sessions intended to resume the legislature's activities.
The alleged measures have reportedly generated concern and dissatisfaction among New Generation officials and members of the party's parliamentary bloc.
The sources further claimed that the PUK's warnings were not limited to its own lawmakers or those from New Generation but were also directed at MPs from other political parties.
According to the allegations, legislators were warned not to attend any parliamentary meeting unless the PUK itself participated, with those ignoring the directive allegedly facing unspecified risks.
The PUK and the New NGM have repeatedly maintained that, together, they control 39 seats in the 100-member Kurdistan Parliament and have argued that parliamentary sessions should not proceed without their participation.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which also holds 39 seats, has taken the opposite position, urging political parties to intensify efforts to reconvene parliament and restore the legislative institution's constitutional role.
The Kurdistan Parliament has remained largely inactive since the October 2024 parliamentary elections, delaying legislative work and slowing the process of forming the KRG's tenth cabinet.
The political deadlock has centered on disagreements between the KDP and the PUK over power-sharing arrangements, parliamentary procedures, and key government positions.
The KDP has consistently argued that restoring parliament is essential to advancing governance, approving legislation, and completing the constitutional process of cabinet formation. The PUK, meanwhile, has insisted that broader political agreements must be reached before parliamentary sessions can resume.
The allegations reported by Kurdistan24 represent a significant escalation in the political standoff that has delayed the functioning of the Kurdistan Region's elected legislature.