KRG cabinet distribution to be decided after Eid: PUK
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The distribution of posts in the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet will be decided after Eid al-Fitr, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's (PUK) spokesperson said on Sunday.
'The important issue of the ministries, and the type of partnership and complaints of both sides have been resolved, and after Eid, the distribution of posts will be resolved,' PUK spokesperson Saadi Ahmed Pira told Rudaw. 'They have reached the final stage in writing the draft.'
Pira said that the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) are 'very close' to forming the new government. 'Our goal is to form an active government because only the government can complete all the political steps to ensure the security and stability of the country.'
On Sunday, senior KDP member Sarbast Lazgin told Rudaw that the next KRG 'will be formed soon.'
'Good things will happen in April, and the tenth cabinet of the KRG will be formed soon,' he said.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who is also a deputy KDP leader, met with PUK leader Bafel Talabani in Erbil earlier in March. Both sides said they had made 'very good' progress in the government formation process.
The Kurdistan Region held delayed parliamentary elections in October. The KDP came out on top, securing 39 spots in the 100-member legislature. The PUK came in second with 23 seats. Since no single party won a majority, a governing coalition will need to be formed, as has traditionally been the case.
Though the KDP and PUK are rivals, they have shared power in government since the establishment of the Kurdistan Region in the 1990s.
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