A political division between the Patriotic Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Party threatens the unity of the region

The head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party, Bafel Talabani, announced this evening, Thursday (November 6), his withdrawal from the Kurdistan Regional Government. Talabani added: "From this moment we announce our withdrawal from this government and we will harness our full capabilities to provide our people in our region with everything they need." He said, "We, as a national union, do not recognize the session of the Kurdistan Parliament and withdraw from the government. We pledged not to allow a single drop of blood to be shed."

Bafel Talabani's statements came one day after a session of the Kurdistan Parliament was held in Erbil, during which the Presidency of the Parliament was elected in the presence of 52 parliamentarians from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and other parties.

What is the Kurdistan region of Iraq?

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is an autonomous federal region in northern Iraq in which a Kurdish majority lives in addition to other religious and ethnic minorities. It is administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government from its capital, Erbil, and has been constitutionally recognized within the Iraqi state since the 2005 Constitution. The region is located in northern and northeastern Iraq, and is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, and Syria to the west. It includes the governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk, and Halabja, which officially became the nineteenth governorate in Iraq in 2025.

What is the nature of the ruling political system in the region?

The region has its own parliament and regional government, and exercises broad powers in administration, education, and internal security within the Iraqi federal framework. However, the relationship with the central government in Baghdad remains a frequent source of disagreements, especially in budget, oil, and disputed areas such as Kirkuk. The Kurdish language is an official language in the region, and Arabic and Kurdish are two co-official languages in Iraq according to the 2005 Constitution.

What are the reasons for the disagreement between the two main parties in the region?

The dispute between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (led by the Talabani family) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (led by the Barzani family) stems primarily from competition for power, influence, and resources, in addition to a historical division in the Kurdish leadership dating back to the 1960s.

The division began in 1964 when Ibrahim Ahmed and Jalal Talabani separated from the Democratic Party led by Mullah Mustafa Barzani due to leadership and ideological differences, and then the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded in 1975.

A different political and social identity also emerged, with the National Union more associated with the left, secularism, and urban bases in Sulaymaniyah, while the Democratic Party remained stronger in rural and conservative settings and in the Erbil and Dohuk regions. The Patriotic Union demands better relations with the Iraqi federal government, while the Democratic Party focuses on preserving the region's independence in dealing with Baghdad. It is also noteworthy that the second generation of leaders of the two parties assumed power, succeeding the old generation, as Bafel Talabani dominates the Union Party, while the Barzani family holds the reins of the Democratic Party and power in the region. The old generation is represented by former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, leader and founder of the Union Party, and in the Democratic Party, the former president of the region, Masoud Barzani, and before him his father, Mustafa Barzani. As for the new generation that holds the files of power, it is represented by Bafel Talabani, Prime Minister Masoud Barzani, and his cousin, the regional president, Nechirvan Barzani.

What are the causes of the struggle for power?

The rivalry between the two parties turned into a civil war between the two parties in 1994, which ended with the Washington Agreement in 1998 and two separate administrations in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, before their reunification in 2006.

Competition is focused on forming the regional government and distributing portfolios, especially the Ministry of Interior, which has authority over governors, mayors, and police chiefs. The National Union demands it, while Barzani refuses to give it up, according to Al-Monitor. While a report by the Washington Institute indicates that “one of the most prominent causes of modern tension is the management of public funds and salaries. The National Union accuses the Erbil government of financially punishing the Sulaymaniyah regions and delaying the salaries and security of its employees, while the Democratic Party believes that budgets should be linked to each region’s income and its ability to finance itself.”

The two parties also disagree over oil and gas, as the National Union objects to the gas export plans supported by the Democratic Party, and demands that the region’s revenues be collected and distributed fairly among the regions. On the Union Party's website, the party indicates that the caretaker government lasted for about two years, which the National Union describes as an administrative failure.

Pavel Talabani focuses on the delay in salaries and the high prices of oil and gasoline compared to Baghdad, and he considers this evidence of the government’s inability to provide services.

What are the areas of influence of the two parties?

The political system in the region is based on an actual division of spheres of influence. The Democratic Party controls the north around Erbil and Dohuk, while the National Union controls the south around Sulaymaniyah, Halabja, and part of Kirkuk. This division made any attempt to expand the power of one party into the other's territory a direct cause of tension.

What are the causes of modern disputes?

On Thursday, November 5, 2026, Bafel Talabani announced the withdrawal of the National Union from the government, after a meeting of the party’s leadership council in Sulaymaniyah attended by the President of the Iraqi Republic, Nizar Amidi, following the parliament session called for by the Democratic Party the previous day, in which she was elected Speaker of Parliament despite the boycott of the National Union. The current differences have roots. The election of the National Union candidate, Nizar Amidi, as president of Iraq in April 2026 without consensus with the Democratic Party sparked anger in Erbil.

The Democratic Party believes that the position is not exclusive to the National Union and must be decided according to electoral merit, and it boycotted the Iraqi parliament sessions for weeks in protest.

In the 2017 independence referendum, the National Union was divided over the referendum led by Masoud Barzani between supporters and those demanding postponement. The Democratic Party then accused it of collusion after the withdrawal of forces affiliated with its wing from Kirkuk, when Baghdad regained the disputed areas in October 2017, which deepened mutual suspicion. The defections of figures from the National Union to the Democratic Party, and security incidents related to them, also contributed to the exacerbation of anger and accusations between the two parties.

What is the regional parliament crisis?

After the elections of October 20, 2024, the regional parliament remained suspended for about two years without electing a presidency, due to the two parties’ disagreement over the formation of the government and the distribution of positions. On November 4, 2026, the Democratic Party, along with representatives from other blocs and minority seats, including three representatives from the National Union who violated their party’s decision, held a session to activate Parliament in the presence of 52 out of 100 representatives, that is, one representative above the quorum.

Vala Farid from the Democratic Party was elected Speaker of Parliament, Remi Nouri from the Christian Quota was elected Vice-President, and Mona Kahwaji from the Turkmen Quota was elected as Secretary. The session was boycotted by the National Union, the New Generation Movement, the Kurdistan Islamic Union, and other blocs.

The National Union considered the session illegal, and then announced the next day that it did not recognize Parliament nor any government or position emanating from it. Dr. Saeed Kakai said in an interview with Iraq Today Radio that the reasons for the dispute are due to the Democratic Party’s intransigence in exclusivity in the decision because it has the majority of seats in Parliament, while there is a coalition parallel to the party, represented by the Union Party and the New Generation Party. “The family conflict, and I would not say ideological over the monopoly of power, has put the region in a bad state,” adds Dr. Kakai. He adds, "Members of Parliament are like puppets moved by parties and ruling families. Parliament in the region is like a chessboard."

Over which positions is the conflict taking place?

The real disagreement relates to the distribution of executive power: the presidency of the region, the presidency of the government, the leadership of Parliament, and the strategic ministries. The National Union seeks to obtain the presidency of the region or the presidency of the government, and to the Ministry of the Interior, which has been controlled by the Democratic Party for about twenty years. While the Democratic Party refuses to give up institutions that represent the base of its executive authority. The President of the region, Nechirvan Barzani (nephew of Masoud Barzani), and the Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, son of leader Masoud Barzani.

Two separate administrations or the separation of Sulaymaniyah into a new region?

Bafel Talabani announced the withdrawal of the National Union from the regional government, and threatened that if the Democratic Party appointed a president or government in Erbil, the Union would appoint a president, a government, and parallel ministers in Sulaymaniyah, saying: “You appoint a president for the region, we appoint a president for the region. You appoint ministers, we appoint ministers,” according to what Anatolia Agency reported. Some observers are putting forward the idea of ​​forming a new federal region centered around Sulaymaniyah and Halabja through Iraqi constitutional mechanisms, but the National Union has not officially announced this yet.

Dr. Kakai said in an interview with DW Arabia that there are several scenarios after this dispute. First, “Sulaimaniyah will sever its relationship with Erbil and join Halabja and Kirkuk, that is, going to decentralization, i.e. self-administration of these governorates away from Erbil.” In practice, this means a return to the pattern after the Kurdish Civil War (1994–1998), when the Democratic Party ran Erbil and Dohuk, and the National Union ran Sulaymaniyah, before officially unifying them in 2006. Analysts believe that the problem is deeper than just competition for ministerial portfolios; The framework that organized the sharing of power between the two parties has practically collapsed since the unification agreement in 2006 and the strategic agreement in 2007. The two parties no longer agree on a common vision of how to manage the region.

Is there a constitutional basis for forming a new territory?

The second possibility, according to what Dr. Saeed Kakai pointed out, is “the scenario of declaring Salmaniya as a separate region in coordination with Baghdad in a tactical step,” but Article 117 of the Iraqi Constitution recognizes the Kurdistan region and the existing authorities as a single federal region.

Article 119 allows one or more governorates to form a new federal region through a referendum, based on a request from a third of the members of each of the relevant governorate councils or from a tenth of the voters in each governorate. But the Constitution does not include a procedure that allows part of an existing territory to secede and form a new, separate territory, making this path legally complex.