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Tensions between PUK co-presidents are ‘family issues’: Mahmoud Sangawi

Member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Politburo Mahmoud Sangawi (File)
PM:02:37:02/08/2021

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SULAIMANI — Member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Politburo Mahmoud Sangawi said on Sunday (August 1) the problems between the party’s co-presidents, Lahur Sheikh Jangi and Bafel Talabani, are "family issues.”

During a speech during a party event in Darbanikhan, Sangawi said that the PUK had suffered from similar challenges in the past and is used to them.

Talabani and Sheikh Jangi are first cousins.

A powerful figure in the party and in the Garmian region, Sangawi said that he did not agree with the tensions between the leaders and supported the unity of the party, offering to be a mediator between the two sides.

On July 8, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and Bafel Talabani moved to pressure Lahur Sheikh Jangi to step down from his position as co-president, which he effectively did on July 19.

Sheikh Jangi has been a staunch critic of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which holds a plurality in the Kurdistan Parliament and is the most powerful party within the KRG’s Council of Ministers.

(NRT Digital Media)