PUK divided after losses in Kurdistan region parliament

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has fractured following the substantial losses it sustained in September's Iraqi Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.
Iraqi political leaders and members of parliament including from (L-R) Iyad Allawi, former prime minister and head of the secular Iraqiya coalition, Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Malik and Iraq's Kurdistan region Prime Minister Barham Salih are attend the 13th Conference of Kurdistan Democratic Party in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad December 11, 2010. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags:
Iraqi political leaders and members of parliament including from (L-R), Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Malik and Iraq's Kurdistan Region's former Prime Minister Barham Salih attend the 13th Conference of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Erbil, Dec. 11, 2010. - REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Ali Abel Sadah
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The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, is going through a rough time due to its loss in the Kurdish parliamentary elections. This is also due to the continued absence of its leader, who is in a Berlin hospital. His health status is unknown.

The parliamentary elections of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which enjoys almost complete autonomy from the central government in Baghdad, were held Sept. 21, 2013. The PUK came in third, winning 18 of 111 seats. Its main rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud Barzani, ranked first with 38 seats.

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