According to Kurdpress, Iraqi Kurdistan is currently facing an unprecedented governance crisis. More than 18 months after holding parliamentary elections, political leaders have not been able to agree on the formation of a new government, and the parliament is still unable to perform its legal duties. Regional government institutions either lack democratic legitimacy or are completely paralyzed. This situation, known as "dual government", clearly shows that political parties have replaced formal governance.

In this situation, the government and the parliament have become formal institutions and the power is practically in the hands of the dominant parties in each region.

Deadlock after holding 31 negotiation meetings

Over the past 18 months, 31 negotiation meetings have been held between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, but no progress has been made. On the one hand, the Kurdistan Democratic Party wants to monopolize key positions such as the head of the region and the prime minister, and on the other hand, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is also seeking to occupy one of these positions. These differences have caused a severe deadlock in the formation of the cabinet.

Due to this deadlock, for the first time in the history of the region, serious discussions about holding early elections have been raised. This issue has become very important especially considering the constant delays in holding elections.

Failure of "50/50" model and new changes

The "50/50" power model, which was formed after the unification in 2006 between the two main parties of Kurdistan, is no longer applicable in the current situation. This model, which divided power equally between the two democratic parties and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, has not been effective since Goran's party disintegrated and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan weakened.

In this round of negotiations, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has demanded to be appointed as the Ministry of Interior, but the Kurdistan Democratic Party has rejected this request. This tension intensified when the New Generation Movement, which has 38 seats, formed an alliance with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and demanded a change in the balance of power.

Economic crisis and income gap

Along with the political crisis, the economic situation of Iraqi Kurdistan has also become more complicated. Monthly, 120 billion Iraqi dinars are sent to Baghdad as internal revenue to pay the salaries of government employees. Of this amount, 72 billion dinars will be provided from Erbil and 48 billion dinars from Sulaymaniyah. This gap in financial revenues shows the dual situation in the financial administration of the region.

Suggested solution

Finally, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has proposed that government posts be divided into two "post baskets": the first basket includes the head of the region and the head of the parliament, and the second includes the prime minister and the head of the judicial council. The Kurdistan Democratic Party can choose one of these two baskets and the rest will be assigned to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. But this proposal was also rejected by the Kurdistan Democratic Party and instead, this party wants to hold early elections.

Uncertain Future: Continued Deadlock or Early Elections?

Given the current impasse, it seems likely that the status quo will continue. Parliament will remain closed and the political situation in the region will be more like a "dual government" instead of a single government. Finally, the possibility of holding early elections remains an open option, although the legal and technical conditions for holding them are complicated.

Finally, this government crisis that has reached a political deadlock requires an urgent solution that Kurdish parties must cooperate to get out of, otherwise, more crises and challenges will be faced by Iraqi Kurdistan.