No agreement was reached at the meeting between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Pirman, and no discussion took place regarding posts, ranks, or power-sharing. The meeting was not positive and returned to square one. There is a possibility that a new negotiating delegation may be formed.

A source present at the KDP–PUK meeting in Pirman revealed details of the meeting to (Draw), stating that the talks did not witness any new progress and that no type of agreement was reached on positions or issues. It can be said that the meeting was not successful and that matters reverted to the starting point.

The source explained that at the beginning of the meeting, the PUK delegation posed a question to the KDP delegation: should the talks resume from where they stopped before the elections, or should they start from a different point? The KDP delegation clearly informed the PUK delegation that what was discussed before the elections is one thing, and now, after the elections, it is another matter; therefore, talks must restart from a different point. Consequently, the PUK delegation told the KDP delegation that they do not consider it appropriate to continue in this manner at this stage and that they would return to their Political Bureau to decide whether this delegation should continue or be changed. This is because what the KDP delegation is seeking differs from what had previously been agreed upon, meaning that the talks have returned to point zero.

The meeting lasted a short time and then concluded, with both the KDP and PUK delegations returning to their respective party Political Bureaus to make decisions.

The source told (Draw) that during the meeting, there was no discussion whatsoever about any Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) posts. The KDP delegation was of the view that, at this stage, talks should be devoted to forming the KRG and resolving that issue, and only after forming the regional government should discussions take place regarding Baghdad positions.

However, the PUK delegation informed the KDP delegation that both issues are close in timing and should be discussed together as a single package. Currently, Shiite and Sunni forces are establishing their own posts; therefore, the Kurds must also prepare themselves and intensify talks to resolve the issue of the presidency of the republic and finalize that post. The PUK believes it deserves, based on merit, the positions of President of the Kurdistan Region and the Presidency of the Republic of Iraq. Therefore, an agreement must be reached on a PUK candidate. In other words, the PUK favored treating both issues as one package, while the KDP favored first settling the Kurdistan Region and KRG posts, and then addressing Baghdad.

During the meeting, the KDP delegation in particular conveyed strong criticisms and complaints to the PUK delegation, especially questioning why the PUK did not accept the KDP’s proposals for forming the government, why they delayed the pre-election agreement, and why they still do not want to resolve this issue now. The PUK delegation reiterated to the KDP delegation that posts and issues must be treated as one package and discussed and resolved together.

More than a year and one month have passed since the sixth-term Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections were held. In the post-election negotiations, the KDP and PUK reached an agreement on the government’s “program,” but failed to reach an agreement on how to distribute positions.

In the most recent elections, out of a total of 100 parliamentary seats, the KDP won 39 seats, and the PUK won 23 seats, ranking first and second respectively, while the New Generation Movement came third with 15 seats.