Powerful Kurdish party withdraws from KRG leaving cracks in northern Iraq's government

The National · Mina Aldroubi · 2026-11-06 11:56 UTC

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's withdrawal deals major blow to power-sharing agreement with longtime rival

A powerful Kurdish party in Iraq announced it is to withdraw from the northern Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), deepening a political crisis with its longtime rival and raising fears of a return to parallel administrations in the region.

The move came after the Kurdistan parliament convened for the first time in nearly two years and elected a Speaker despite a boycott by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and allied parties, which had demanded further negotiations over the distribution of senior government positions.

Announcing the decision in a video statement, PUK leader Bafel Talabani said his party had decided to "withdraw from this failed government", accusing elements within the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in Iraqi Kurdistan, of disregarding democratic principles and ignoring the will of voters.

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