PUK Co-President Bafel Talabani (file)
PM:03:41:03/11/2021
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SULLAIMANI — A letter signed by Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK) Co-President Bafel Talabani expelling his co-president, Lahur Sheikh
Jangi, was carried by a media outlet affiliated with his faction of the party
on Wednesday (November 3).
"According to the authority that we have and the proof
provided by the investigation committee, we have decided to expel Lahur Sheikh
Jangi from the PUK membership," the letter said.
It went on to accuse Sheikh Jangi of violating several
internal rules of the party, specifically by not participating in the recent PUK
electoral campaign, committing national, political, and partisan betrayal by
working for other parties, and using the party’s authority for his own personal
benefit.
It is not immediately clear whether the letter carries any
weight either legally or within the party itself. The work of the investigation
committee had not been previously revealed and it workings were not detailed in
the letter.
The letter, which is dated November 2, is the latest development
in the power struggle between Talabani and Sheikh Jangi that exploded into
public view in early July.
On Tuesday night, Sheikh Jangi released a statement criticizing the PUK’s direction under Talabani and its performance in the 2021
Iraqi parliamentary elections. He called for the party’s powerful General
Leadership Committee to convene and resolve the tension between the two
co-leaders.
Within an hour of the statement being posted online, media
outlets affiliated with Talabani posted news items citing a senior PUK official
as saying the Sheikh Jangi and four of his allies had been expelled from the
party.
On Wednesday, a source close to Talabani told NRT that the
leadership was planning to remove additional PUK officials from their party and
government posts.
There was no immediate response from Sheikh Jangi’s camp
about his apparent expulsion.
(NRT Digital Media)
This story was updated at 4:19 p.m. EBL