By name and position: The Patriotic Union begins procedures to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government

By name and position: The Patriotic Union begins procedures to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government

2026-11-07

By name and position - The Patriotic Union begins procedures to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional GovernmentShafaq News – Sulaymaniyah
On Saturday, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Jalal Talabani, began taking practical steps to implement its decision to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), following the election of the KRG’s parliamentary leadership by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

According to information obtained by Shafaq News Agency, the government council of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has begun taking the necessary measures to implement the decision to withdraw from the regional government, with senior officials and holders of high-ranking positions affiliated with the party refraining from returning to their official duties starting from the beginning of the week.

Information indicates that the Patriotic Union occupies dozens of leadership and administrative positions in the ninth government formation of the Kurdistan Region, distributed between the Presidency of the Region, the Council of Ministers, ministries and government bodies, as well as the positions of undersecretaries of ministries, directors general and advisors.

The most prominent positions include Deputy Prime Minister of the Regional Government Qubad Talabani, and Deputy President of the Region Jafar Sheikh Mustafa, in addition to five ministerial portfolios: Planning, headed by Dara Rashid; Culture and Youth, headed by Hama Hama Saeed; Agriculture and Water Resources, headed by Begard Talabani; Peshmerga Affairs, headed by Shorsh Ismail; and Higher Education and Scientific Research, headed by Aram Hama Mina.

The list also includes the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Amanj Rahim, the head of the General Authority for Mine Affairs, Jabbar Mustafa, the head of the Tourism Authority, Zwan Saber, and the head of the General Authority for Kurdish Areas Outside the Region’s Administration, Fahmi Burhan.

As for the level of undersecretaries, the positions include Shilan Arif in the Ministry of Justice, Jitu Saleh in the Ministry of Interior, Ahmed Mufti in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Rahil Faridun in the Ministry of Health, Zainuddin Mawlud in the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Ali Othman in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as Daban Shadla, Deputy Head of the Department of Foreign Relations in the Regional Government.

According to the information, the National Union’s presence within government institutions extends to dozens of administrative and advisory positions, including directors-general, deputy directors-general, and advisors in the Ministry of Finance, particularly in the departments of customs, budget, taxes, and insurance, as well as the company registration department in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The positions also include the dams and water reservoirs departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, the institutions for the affairs of martyrs, Anfal victims and political prisoners, in addition to the position of director of electricity distribution in the Kurdistan Region, which is held by Qarman Suleiman, and a number of other administrative positions.

These moves come after the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Bafel Jalal Talabani, announced his party’s withdrawal from the ninth government formation, in response to the election of the Kurdistan Parliament’s leadership in a session held in the absence of the Patriotic Union and a number of other political forces.

Talabani had announced, in a televised address following a meeting of his party’s leadership council, that he did not recognize the parliament session and its outcomes, describing the current government as a caretaker government that had “failed” to perform its duties, and confirming that his party was ending its participation in it.

The start of the implementation of the withdrawal decision raises questions about the future of the management of government institutions in the Kurdistan Region, especially the ministries and departments in which the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) holds leadership positions, in light of escalating political disputes with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the failure of understandings regarding the formation of the tenth government.

The Kurdistan Region Parliament resumed its work last Wednesday, November 4, by electing its leadership with the attendance of 52 out of 100 members. Vala Farid, the Kurdistan Democratic Party candidate, was elected Speaker of Parliament, Rami Nouri, the representative of the Christian component, was elected as her deputy, and Mona Qahwaji, the representative of the Turkmen component, was elected as the Parliament’s secretary.

The session took place amid an official boycott by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the New Generation Movement and other political forces, while the Democratic Party considered the reactivation of the legislative institution a necessary step to protect the constitutional entity of the region and end the state of paralysis.

Parliament had been in a state of deadlock since the elections held on October 20, 2024, in which the Kurdistan Democratic Party led with 39 seats, followed by the Patriotic Union with 23 seats, and the New Generation Movement with 15 seats, before disagreements over the formation of the government and the distribution of positions prevented the completion of the election of its leadership body after its first session in December of the same year.

shafaq.com