Masrour Barzani: Community representation to be enhanced in the next Kurdistan parliament term

05-09-2024 02:56

Peregraf

In a speech at the First Athra Syriac Symposium in Erbil today, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG), vowed to enhance the representation of various communities in the next term of the Kurdistan Parliament.

"In the upcoming term of the Kurdistan Parliament, we will enhance the representation of the communities within both the parliament and the KRG in a more commendable manner," Barzani said, emphasizing the significance of protecting community rights and promoting coexistence.

Addressing the reduction of quota seats for communities in the Kurdistan Parliament from 11 to 5, Barzani noted, "Local parties and Iraqi federal institutions have attempted to infringe upon these rights. We have opposed these efforts, restoring some of the unjustly denied rights."

He added, "With faith in God and the patriotic citizens of Kurdistan, we expect the upcoming term will uphold the rights and representation of Kurdish communities with greater dignity in both parliamentary and administrative spheres.

Following a lawsuit filed by the PUK, the Iraqi Federal Court has ruled to eliminate 11 community seats in the Kurdistan parliament, thereby decreasing the total number of seats from 111 to 100. This decision sparked significant protests from the affected communities and KDP. Subsequently, the Iraqi Election Judiciary resolved to restore the last five seats to the communities within the context of the 100-seat framework in the Kurdistan Parliament, distributing them into constituencies.

The five community seats are distributed among constituencies within the Kurdistan Region. In Sulaimaniyah, there is one seat designated for Turkmen and another for Christians. Similarly, in Erbil, one seat is reserved for Turkmen and one for Christians, while in Duhok, one seat is allocated for Armenians.

The political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, particularly the KDP and the PUK, which are the two ruling forces, have conducted numerous bilateral discussions as well as several meetings involving other parties and even UNAMI regarding the amendment of the electoral law. However, they have been unable to overcome their primary challenge, which pertains to the 11 community seats in the Kurdistan Parliament, until the Federal Court issued a ruling on the issue.

The PUK and several other factions expressed discontent regarding the representation of communities within the parliament, asserting that these representatives did not genuinely reflect the interests of their communities, but were instead "exploited by the KDP in political disputes." Furthermore, the electoral legislation was structured in a manner that ensured all 11 quota seats were decided in favor of the KDP.

In the past, the Kurdistan Parliament designated 11 out of its 111 seats for various communities, specifically allocating five seats for Turkmen, five for Christians, and one for Armenians.

An investigation conducted by Peregraf revealed that the blocs and members of parliament representing the communities did not present any bills during the most recent term of the Kurdistan Parliament.