The Kurdistan region’s two leading political parties have stumbled in their efforts to implement an agreement to form a new government in Erbil and elect a new governor of Kirkuk. The setback further extends a period of political uncertainty and lame-duck administration of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), though officials from both the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) expressed hope that they can regenerate some forward momentum.