( CNN ) -- The second-highest ranking official in Iraqi President Jalal Talabani 's political party resigned Saturday , along with four other high-ranking Kurdish politicians , officials said . Iraqi President Jalal Talabani could be jeopardized by the resignations of five key members of his party . Khosrat Rasul , the vice president of the Kurdistan Regional Government , resigned , along with four other members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan ( PUK ) , according to Kurdish lawmakers . Rasul is a battle-scarred veteran of Kurdish rebellions against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein . Kurdish members of the Iraqi Parliament say the resignations threaten the delicate balance of power in Iraqi Kurdistan , a semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq . It has been the most stable part of the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion . `` It looks very serious , '' said Ala Talabani , the president 's niece and a PUK member , as well as a member of Parliament . She spoke by phone from the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya , long a stronghold of the PUK . `` It 's about corruption , '' Ala Talabani said of the resignations . `` They are asking about the resources and the money . Who is spending it . And who is in charge of the income of the party . '' `` It 's not good , '' said Mahmoud Othman , a member of the Iraqi Parliament and an independent Kurdish politician . `` The PUK is one of the main two [ Kurdish ] players , '' he added . `` A problem like this will upset the whole situation . '' Iraqi Kurdistan broke free from Baghdad 's control after the 1991 Gulf War . Since then , the region has been divided between two rival Kurdish factions , Talabani 's PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party , led by Massoud Barzani . For several years throughout the 1990s , the groups battled each other in the mountains and valleys of northern Iraq . Those historic divisions faded somewhat following the United States ' overthrow of Hussein . For the past five years , the Kurds have worked together in Baghdad to enhance the Kurdish region 's position in Iraq . Kurdish politicians deftly took advantage of divisions between Sunni and Shi ' a Arab factions . They successfully lobbied to maintain Kurdistan 's militia of pesh merga fighters . Demands to expand the Kurdish zone of control and win the right to exploit oil deposits in Kurdish territory have increased tensions between Kurdish and Arab politicians . The resignation of Rasul and his allies threatens the power base of Talabani , the first Kurdish president in Iraqi history . `` If it is not fixed by Talabani by tomorrow , this could change the entire landscape of Kurdish politics , '' said Hiwa Osman , the Iraq country director of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting . Iraq 's three northern Kurdish provinces are scheduled to hold regional elections in May . Talabani is expected to travel to Kurdistan to hold emergency meetings with Rasul and his other former comrades-in-arms . This is not the first time the stout Kurdish leader has faced a rebellion from within the ranks of his followers . Kurdish observers say these disputes usually stem from disagreements over money and power .
5 politicians in Kurdish Iraqi President Talabani 's PUK party resign . PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party rivals for power in Kurdistan . Official says resignations are over corruption , questions of where money goes . Resignations could threaten power base of Talabani , first Kurdish president .