Mahmoud said in a news conference that PUK had to announce its stances before if it did not want to commit to the agreement.

“We talked about the solution for the Kirkuk governorship with the PUK in the agreement, thus Kosrat Rasoul and Masoud Barzani were designated to resolve the issue,” he said.

“KDP and PUK were supposed to meet on February 18, unfortunately the PUK withdrew and did not participate in the meeting.”

“We have had policy of tolerance since September 30 and continued the meetings with the participant parties in and out of the government. Kurdistan Region people will no longer wait the delay of the government,” Mahmoud added.

The Kurdistan Parliament elected Nechirvan Barzani as new President of the Kurdistan Region with 68 out of 81 votes on Tuesday.

The PUK Politburo said in a statement that the party's caucus would not participate in the session, NRT reported.

“The Kurdistan Democratic Party [KDP] has not stepped up to implement our agreements with it. The KDP always makes obstacles for the nomination of a governor from the PUK [in Kirkuk, as we have agreed on],” the statement read.

Spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Latif Sheikh Omar said on Tuesday, May 28, that the agreement between PUK first deputy secretary general Kosrat Rasoul and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader was about the selection of a PUK candidate for Kirkuk governor.

Shiekh Omar told his party’s media that what the KDP spokesperson's remarks about the selection of an independent candidate for the Kirkuk governorship was related to a proposal for a joint committee and that no decisions were made regarding the proposal.

Reporter’s code: 50101