Peregraf- Talks on forming a new Iraqi government gained momentum as Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani held discussions with Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadeq, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Iraq, focusing on post-election developments and negotiations to establish a new federal cabinet.
In a statement, Barzani said the meeting addressed the development of bilateral relations, the overall political situation in Iraq following the Council of Representatives elections, and ongoing talks among Iraqi political forces to form the next government. He added that both sides emphasized strengthening relations between the Kurdistan Region and Iran, particularly in the economic, trade, and cultural fields.
The meeting comes amid intensified political efforts in Baghdad, where Iraqi Shia and Sunni forces are urging Kurdish parties to reach a unified agreement on a single candidate for the presidency. The calls are directed mainly at the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), whose disagreements over the post have complicated government formation in recent years.
A high-ranking Kurdish source in Baghdad told Peregraf that Shia and Sunni factions have conveyed a clear message to Kurdish leaders, stressing the need to settle the presidency through an internal Kurdish agreement before taking the issue to Parliament. According to the source, major Iraqi political blocs are eager to see key sovereign positions resolved quickly and a new cabinet formed on the basis of consensus among election winners, without Baghdad being drawn into intra-Kurdish disputes.
By political convention established after the fall of the Ba’ath regime, the presidency of Iraq is allocated to the Kurds. Traditionally, the post has been held by the PUK, but the KDP challenged this arrangement in the previous term and has renewed its claim in the current political cycle. Kurdish political sources say that without a broader understanding between the two parties—particularly on power-sharing in the Kurdistan Region and the formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government—it will be difficult to reach consensus on federal positions, including the presidency.
If no agreement is reached, the KDP and PUK may enter the presidential race with separate candidates, although negotiations aimed at a comprehensive deal are continuing.
These developments follow the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court’s ratification of the final parliamentary election results, a move that opens the door to the next constitutional steps. The President of the Republic is required to call the first session of the new Parliament within 15 days, during which lawmakers will take the constitutional oath and elect the Speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority vote.
The Speaker of Parliament, a position traditionally allocated to Sunnis, is expected to be agreed upon through internal consensus among winning Sunni factions, which have already begun consultations within a political council framework.
Within 30 days of the first parliamentary session, Parliament must elect a new President by a two-thirds majority—220 votes out of 329 MPs. The elected President will then task the largest parliamentary bloc, widely expected to be the Shia Coordination Framework, with forming the new government within 15 days.
According to certified election results, the KDP remains the leading political force in the Kurdistan Region, followed by the PUK. The elections also produced notable shifts among opposition parties: the New Generation Movement suffered significant losses, while the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) returned to its position as the third-largest party in the Region after a 15-year absence. The Halwest (Stance) Movement made notable gains, surpassing New Generation.
At the parliamentary level, Kurdish parties secured 58 seats nationwide out of the 329-seat Council of Representatives, underlining their central role in negotiations over the formation of Iraq’s next cabinet.