Will unity deal deepen rivalries in Iraqi Kurdistan?
Long-time Kurdish rivals Gorran and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan recently reached an agreement that might further entrench Kurdish division in Iraqi Kurdistan.
A deal between two main Iraqi Kurdish political parties, Gorran and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), is expected to increase tensions and lead to further fragmentation and destabilization of Iraqi Kurdistan’s political scene, at least in the short run, as it might trigger reactions from the major ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The agreement signed May 17 by senior PUK and Gorran leaders in Sulaimaniyah comes after a year of political crisis in Iraqi Kurdistan sparked by unsuccessful Gorran-led attempts to unseat Massoud Barzani, the KDP leader and president of the autonomous region.
