Joint KDP, PUK delegation visits Baghdad amid government formation talks 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A joint Kurdish delegation arrived in Iraq's capital Baghdad on Friday as the victors of the Oct. 10 elections ramped up efforts to form the country's new government. 

The delegation of the two leading Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), visited the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representation in the Iraqi capital, according to sources who spoke to Kurdistan 24. 

They are planning to meet with Shiite and Sunni political factions. 

The Kurdish parties recently held meetings in the Kurdistan Region to form a united front in Baghdad to represent the autonomous region's interests more effectively, officials from the parties previously said.

The question of the disputed territories, the federal budget, the region's entitlements, and the Iraqi presidency will all be discussed, informed sources told Kurdistan 24. 

Combined, the two parties have 48 seats out of the 63 seats that all the Kurdish parties hold in the country's 329-seat legislative house. The KDP holds 31 seats, while the PUK has 17. 

The visit comes as the new parliament's first session is scheduled to meet on Sunday. The parliamentary speaker and two deputies will be elected to the legislative house during that session. They will later elect the country's president to select a nominee for prime minister. 

Led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Sadrist bloc is the biggest winner of the elections, having secured 73 seats. The Sadrists are calling for a "national majoritarian government". 

Those opposing the Sadrists have come together under the Shiite Coordination Framework entity. The Framework calls for a consensus-based government, which has been the tradition since the 2005 parliamentary elections. 

Unconfirmed reports say that the two major Sunni blocs – Taqadum and Azm – have agreed to nominate the former head of parliament, Mohammad al-Halbousi, for the post of speaker. 

Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the current caretaker of the government, visited Najaf on Thursday and met with Sadr to discuss "administrative" affairs of the shrine city. 

Some analysts interpreted the visit as part of the government formation talks and Kadhimi's bid to become prime minister for a second term. 

The President of the Republic is traditionally allocated for the Kurds in Iraq as part of the Muhasasa system, under which each ethnic and religious components get their proportional representation in government. 

The KDP and PUK are discussing the matter and trying to nominate a candidate, the sources said.