Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) inked a new political agreement on Sunday to lay the ground for the formation of the new government.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has reached a final understanding regarding the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in separate deals signed with the Change Movement (Gorran) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Sulaimani on Sunday. 

Nechirvan Barzani, leading a delegation from the KDP, arrived in Sulaimani on Sunday morning to meet with the PUK and Gorran, hoping to end months of discussions over the formation of the next government. 

“We have reached an understanding and we hope that in the next few days we will start the process of forming the next cabinet by initially reviving the Kurdistan presidency law,” KDP spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed told reporters Sunday afternoon after the meeting between his party and Gorran. 

The KDP first reached a deal with Gorran in February with Gorran agreeing to enter the government and pushing a package of institutional reforms. The government-formation process has dragged on for more than seven months. Parliamentary elections were held on September 30, 2018, with the KDP coming out on top, winning 45 seats in the 111-seat legislature, but not securing an outright majority. It has spent more than half a year trying to build a governing coalition with the PUK, which won 21 seats, and Gorran, which has 12 seats. The KDP has already nominated Masrour Barzani, the current Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), as their candidate for prime minister who will form the new regional government’s cabinet. Nechirvan Barzani, the current prime minister, has also been nominated as the KDP’s candidate for the newly-reinstated post of President of the Kurdistan Region

After signing its agreement with Gorran, KDP then arrived at a similar pact with the PUK in March, but disagreements over distributing cabinet positions lingered. Gorran and PUK also disagreed over the president's deputies.  In the presence of many senior party members from both sides, the agreement was signed in Sulaimani by the deputy leader of the KDP, Nechirvan Barzani, and the acting Secretary-General of the PUK, Kosrat Rasul. The two leaders praised the people of Kurdistan for their patience and expressed their hope that the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet will bring more economic prosperity and positive development to the autonomous Kurdish region.

The agreement came hours after meeting between a KDP delegation with members of the Gorran movement and the PUK. The designation of posts in the new KRG cabinet was one of the main reasons the government formation had been delayed despite the aforementioned parties having signed prior deals.

The KDP previously signed separate agreements with the PUK and Gorran that were described as final deals. However, disagreements grew after the PUK demanded additional posts in the cabinet, a move which also strained relations with Gorran.

The Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary election on Sept. 30, with the KDP securing 45 seats in the 111-seat legislature. The PUK and Gorran came in second and third place with 21 and 12 seats respectively.