Could Iraq’s Kurdish region return to two separate administrations?

What the report says

A political standoff in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region is raising fears that the area could drift back toward two rival administrations, according to Al Jazeera. The tension centers on the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the two dominant parties in the Kurdistan Regional Government, after a parliamentary session was held in Erbil without PUK participation.

Al Jazeera reported that PUK leader Bafel Talabani pulled his party out of the government in response, while some observers warned that the PUK’s Sulaimaniyah stronghold could move to set up a parallel authority if the impasse continues. The KDP, led by the Barzani family and based mainly in Erbil and Dohuk, has been trying to move ahead with government formation after the 2024 regional election, in which it won 39 seats to the PUK’s 23. Other parties, including the New Generation Movement, also won representation, making coalition talks necessary.

The article notes that the Kurdish region has a history of split rule: during conflict in the 1990s, the KDP and PUK ran separate administrations in different parts of the region. While the current dispute is described as political rather than violent, analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said mistrust is deep and compromise appears difficult. One constitutional expert said there is no clear legal pathway for Sulaimaniyah to break away from the regional government, underscoring that any such move would be politically explosive even if it is not clearly lawful.