By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani called on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to return to direct talks on November 9, following a dispute over parliamentary leadership that has deepened the region's two-year struggle to form a government.
Four days earlier, PUK leader Bafel Talabani had announced his party's withdrawal from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), warning that it could make competing appointments if the KDP acted alone. The KDP welcomed the call for dialogue. No formal PUK acceptance of the proposal had been confirmed at publication.
At the same time, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani was negotiating in Baghdad over the region's 2027 budget share, public salaries and oil revenues. Iraq's state newspaper Al-Sabaah reported on November 10 that cabinet discussion of the budget had been postponed to November 14 so the draft could reflect the understandings reached with Erbil.
The Parliamentary Vote Behind the Split
On November 4, the 100-seat Kurdistan Parliament elected KDP lawmaker Vala Fareed as speaker, with Rami Noori as deputy speaker and Muna Qahwachi as secretary. The slate received the backing of 52 members, one more than the 51 votes required for an absolute majority. The PUK and several other parties boycotted the sitting, although lawmakers from outside the KDP helped establish the quorum.
The KDP says the vote lawfully restored the leadership of a legislature largely inactive since the October 2024 election. The PUK rejects both the procedure and the appointments. The dispute now reaches the next stages of government formation, which the parliamentary leadership is expected to oversee.
The 2024 election gave the KDP 39 seats and the PUK 23. Repeated disagreements over senior posts and executive authority have kept Masrour Barzani's previous cabinet in office on a caretaker basis. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani urged political forces on November 4 to take their disputes back into parliament, but the PUK's boycott continued.
Talabani Threatens Competing Appointments
Talabani escalated the confrontation on November 5. In a video statement published by the PUK, he rejected the parliamentary vote and any government formed on that basis, accused the KDP of obstructing the political process and announced his party's immediate withdrawal from the regional administration. He also alleged that public resources had been used to sway lawmakers, a claim not independently substantiated.
Talabani warned that unilateral KDP appointments to the regional presidency, premiership or cabinet would be met with equivalent PUK appointments. A PUK administrative board met on November 7 to prepare for implementation of the leadership's decisions. The threat has not been followed by verified appointments to a parallel administration.
Masoud Barzani's November 9 appeal urged the PUK to resume negotiations and invited other parties to help form a broad-based government. KDP spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed said the party was ready for dialogue. Any new talks would begin with the November 4 parliamentary appointments still in dispute.
Baghdad Extends the Budget Timetable
Masrour Barzani met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi on November 9. According to the KRG, they discussed oil-field management, the division of oil and non-oil revenues, salary payments, the region's share of the 2027 federal budget and a federal oil and gas law.
Both governments described the meeting as constructive and pledged to pursue arrangements consistent with Iraq's constitution. Masrour Barzani said they had reached an understanding on a unified allocation for the region. The published account stops short of specifying a final percentage, payment schedule or binding revenue-sharing formula.
The KRG is seeking 14.14% of the federal budget, citing the 2024 population census. A KRG report published on November 10 says the draft 2027 budget assigns the region 12.70%. Its analysis also disputes deductions from nominal allocations, a separate issue affecting how much money the region would actually receive. The percentages reflect competing positions and draft calculations; Iraq's parliament has not approved the budget.
On November 10, Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi, director of the Iraqi prime minister's media office, told Al-Sabaah that cabinet discussion and approval of the draft had been moved from Tuesday to Saturday, November 14. The delay, he said, would allow the Baghdad-Erbil understandings to be written into the budget. The draft would then still require parliamentary consideration.
Oil Infrastructure and Türkiye's Stake
The two prime ministers also condemned the November 8 attack on the Khor Mor gas field, which halted production and disrupted electricity generation in the region. Their joint statement called for stronger protection of energy infrastructure.
The budget negotiations also bear on oil revenues associated with exports through Türkiye. The pipeline route to Ceyhan involves Baghdad, the KRG and Turkish infrastructure, while competing claims over oil oversight and shipments have long complicated the relationship. The November 9 meeting addressed revenue sharing without announcing changes to the Türkiye-Iraq pipeline agreement.
Security cooperation is proceeding on a separate Türkiye-Iraq track. Their November 8 statement on the Bashiqa handover and Sinjar coordination sets out commitments between Ankara and Baghdad, outside the KDP-PUK parliamentary dispute.
The KDP and PUK still have to decide whether they can work under the contested parliamentary leadership. The region's financial settlement faces a more immediate procedural deadline: Baghdad's cabinet is due to return to the 2027 budget on November 14.
Sources: PUKMEDIA, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Kurdistan TV, Kurdistan Regional Government, Kurdistan Region Presidency, Kurdistan Region Representation in the United States, Al-Sabaah, Rudaw, 964media, Shafaq News, Bosphorus News review and reporting.