PUK reportedly decides to quit KRG cabinet as Region awaits statement from leadership

SULAYMANIYAH — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s leadership has decided to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government in protest at the reopening of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament, according to media reports.

The party had not yet announced the decision officially. A statement is expected later Thursday night.

The PUK’s Leadership Council, chaired by PUK President Bafel Talabani, met for two hours Thursday at the party’s Political Bureau headquarters in Sulaymaniyah, a day after the parliament elected its leadership at a sitting the PUK and several other parties boycotted.

A council member, whose name was withheld, told Voice of America’s Kurdish service that the party would not accept the reconvened parliament. “We do not recognize the parliament in which the PUK has been marginalized, so overall we decided to withdraw from the government,” the member said. The member said the council had voted by majority to leave the final decision to Bafel Talabani.

Latif Nerwayi, a Leadership Council member who attended the meeting, told the PUK-affiliated broadcaster Kurdsat News that the discussions had ended unanimously and produced decisions.

Gali Kurdistan TV, another PUK-affiliated channel, reported that the leadership had weighed three or four options and would announce its final position in a statement or at a news conference. Channel 8, a Sulaymaniyah-based broadcaster close to the PUK, cited a source at the meeting as saying the council had reached a decision, without saying what it was.

According to Kurdsat, Bafel Talabani was expected to deliver a message Thursday evening setting out the party’s position on the latest political developments and its response to the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s decision to go ahead with the sitting. Channel 8 said a statement from him was expected shortly.

964media contacted dozens of PUK Leadership Council members seeking clarification on the decisions reached during Thursday’s meeting, but none had responded by the time of publication.

Begard Talabani, the KRG’s agriculture and water resources minister and a Leadership Council member who attended the meeting, wrote on her verified Facebook account that she would abide by the party’s decisions. “We are committed to all decisions of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,” she wrote, sharing a graphic bearing the PUK emblem and the words “The PUK has made its decision.” Her post did not say what the decision was.

Other PUK officials in the KRG posted similar pledges Thursday. Zendin Amokay, the KRG’s deputy minister of endowments and religious affairs, wrote on Facebook that the posts he held in the party and government belonged to the PUK’s fighters. He wrote that he would abide “with pride” by whatever Bafel Talabani, the PUK leadership and Qubad Talabani, “head of the PUK team in the government,” decided.

Rahel Faraidoon, the KRG’s deputy health minister, said in a statement that his post was “the fruit of the struggle and the pure blood of the immortal martyrs.” He said he was committed to every decision of Bafel Talabani and the PUK leadership. Deputy Justice Minister Shilan Arif and Jabbar Mustafa, head of the KRG Mine Action Agency, wrote on Facebook that they were committed to every decision of the party’s president and leadership. Mustafa shared a graphic with the PUK emblem and the same message.

On Wednesday, 52 of the parliament’s 100 members attended the sitting, which elected the KDP’s Vala Fareed as speaker, Rami Nouri as deputy speaker and Muna Kahveci as secretary, each with 52 votes. It was the parliament’s first quorum since its opening sitting in December 2024. Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani welcomed the reopening and urged the boycotting parties to join.

The PUK holds several ministries and the post of deputy prime minister, filled by Qubad Talabani, in the current KRG cabinet led by Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. Formed in 2019, the cabinet remains in office because no new one has been formed since the October 2024 election.

This is article has been updated