ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Government formation talks officially began in the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday, following a presidential decree calling for the first session of parliament to be held next week. Some smaller parties are reluctant to join ruling ones in the next cabinet. “Today, we will formally start [cabinet formation] talks and our delegation will visit Sulaimani city today,” Dilshad Shahab, a member of the governing Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) delegation for government formation talks, announced on Wednesday. It is not clear if the KDP held any meetings with other parties in Sulaimani on Wednesday. Shahab emphasized they are willing to speak with all political parties during the process. “The KDP’s doors will be open to discussion with all [political] sides, and there are no preconditions to make agreements” regarding the government formation process, Shahab noted. On Tuesday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani issued a presidential decree summoning newly-elected lawmakers to hold the first parliamentary session on December 2 to be sworn in. A Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) delegation, led by Qubad Talabani, who is a senior PUK member and deputy prime minister, on Wednesday, visited the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) leader Ali Bapir. Komal, an Islamic party, won three seats in the 100-spot legislature during the October 20 elections. Bapir was a vocal critic of the two ruling parties, the KDP and PUK during the election campaign. When the election results were out, Komal announced that it would not take its parliamentary seats as a protest over alleged rigging. PUK Media reported that Bapir reaffirmed during the meeting that Komal would not enter the parliament, citing concerns over external interference in the election process. Komal, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the People's Front (Baray Gal), and the National Stance Movement (Halwest) have repeatedly denounced the election results, alleging fraud and voter manipulation. Halwest leader Ali Hama Saleh, whose party won four seats in the polls, told Rudaw on Tuesday that while they have not made a final decision about entering the parliament, they are currently inclined to do so. Saleh emphasized that Halwest does not want their seats to fall into the hands of other parties upon their withdrawal. Saleh said that the two ruling parties have “requested” meetings with Halwest for government formation talks but his party turned them down. The former opposition lawmaker reiterated his party’s pledge not to join a government with the two ruling parties.
