Qubad’s attendance at the session came days after Barzani and Talabani met and agreed on the return of National Union ministers to attend government sessions and meetings.
According to observers, what happened represents a development which contributes to dissolving the crux of the differences between the two parties, which threatens to postpone the organization of the elections, the date of which the presidency of the Kurdistan region had recently announced in next November.
Barzani Initiative
The leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, launched an initiative a few days ago to unify Kurdish ranks and overcome differences, calling on the leaders of the two major Kurdish parties, the Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union, to hold a meeting to achieve this, while the political bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan welcomed the positive atmosphere in the region, conducive to achieving national consensus.
The Regional Presidency welcomes
The Presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq said in a statement: “We welcome the convening of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region with the participation of the ministerial team of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan , hoping that this will become a start and a step towards the resolution of other internal conflicts in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”
The statement of the presidency added: “The Kurdistan region needs today more than ever to unify the word, the unity of the ranks and the cohesion, and the presidency of the Kurdistan region will continue, as it does. has always done, his work and efforts to resolve all problems and differences through dialogue and understanding, and supports every step that would improve the position of the region.”
According to observers, the opportunity has come to strengthen the internal consensus between the different political forces of Iraqi Kurdistan and to proceed with the implementation of the exceptional advantages, in particular the general elections for the parliament of the region.
On the other hand, analysts believe that Talabani’s mere return to government meetings, despite its importance, is not enough on its own if it is not followed by further measures to build trust and participation, not only between the two main parties, but also between the different parties to the political process, including those represented by the smaller components.
Important breakthrough
Writer and Kurdish affairs expert Tariq Johar said in an interview with Sky News Arabia:
The holding of the government meeting in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister is an indication that the two main parties continue to close the pages of the dispute. There is no doubt that the pending files still need to be dealt with and agreements on them, in particular the file of the elections, its commission, the share of the components in parliament and other issues on which agreement is the most more important to consolidate this reconciliation after a long boycott. Time is running out, because only 6 months separate us from the date scheduled for the holding of general elections in the region, and in the event that no agreement is reached on all of these issues, the Commission will not be able to organize these elections as planned, which amounts to postponing the electoral deadline of 2024.
Last October, the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq extended its legislative term until the end of 2023, in a majority vote of 80 deputies out of 111, who voted in favor of the law extending the fifth session of Parliament, which ended in November 2022, on the impact of the political differences which led to the absence of the holding of the general elections scheduled for the fall of 2022.
A statement he released at the time said the extension was a step “to prevent a legal vacuum and to represent the principle of the continuity of constitutional institutions in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”
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