ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region parliament will meet on Sunday when it will hear a statement from President Masoud Barzani during a session in which it is widely expected the legislature will discuss the Region’s presidency. The session has already been twice postponed.
The parliament's deputy speaker, Jaafar Imniki, told Rudaw that Barzani sent a letter to the parliament on Saturday and it will be read out during the meeting on Sunday.
The letter will address Barzani's refusal to seek an extension or amendment to his term, according to his senior assistant Hemin Hawrami.
Barzani's term was last extended in August 2015 until such time as elections are held. Barzani called for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on November 1 - a date that was subsequently postponed by parliament. While parliament extended its own term along with the vote postponement, Hawrami said the president is not seeking anything similar.
The letter also outlines a plan to divide up his powers, Reuters reported citing a government official.
A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Dler Mawati, confirmed that a "special meeting" of the parliament will be held on Sunday, but declined to reveal the agenda. A “national question will be discussed,” he said.
The issue up for discussion has been agreed on by his PUK, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Mawati added.
Gorran has said it would return to the parliament to take part in discussions on the controversial presidency law, a party MP had told Rudaw. This will be the first time the second-largest party in the chamber attends a session since the parliament was reactivated in September after being shut for two years.
Disagreements over the presidential law between Gorran and the ruling KDP were the primary reason the parliament was closed. Gorran wants to see the presidency reduced to a ceremonial role and the parliament strengthened. The KDP, which currently holds the presidency, opposed the move.
Other parties have joined Gorran in their stance and the president, Masoud Barzani, has himself said ahead of the independence referendum that the parliamentary system would be best for the Kurdistan Region.
The parliament last sat on Tuesday when it voted to postpone parliamentary and presidential elections and extend its own term.
Updated at 8:40 pm
The parliament's deputy speaker, Jaafar Imniki, told Rudaw that Barzani sent a letter to the parliament on Saturday and it will be read out during the meeting on Sunday.
The letter will address Barzani's refusal to seek an extension or amendment to his term, according to his senior assistant Hemin Hawrami.
Barzani's term was last extended in August 2015 until such time as elections are held. Barzani called for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on November 1 - a date that was subsequently postponed by parliament. While parliament extended its own term along with the vote postponement, Hawrami said the president is not seeking anything similar.
The letter also outlines a plan to divide up his powers, Reuters reported citing a government official.
A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Dler Mawati, confirmed that a "special meeting" of the parliament will be held on Sunday, but declined to reveal the agenda. A “national question will be discussed,” he said.
The issue up for discussion has been agreed on by his PUK, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Mawati added.
Gorran has said it would return to the parliament to take part in discussions on the controversial presidency law, a party MP had told Rudaw. This will be the first time the second-largest party in the chamber attends a session since the parliament was reactivated in September after being shut for two years.
Disagreements over the presidential law between Gorran and the ruling KDP were the primary reason the parliament was closed. Gorran wants to see the presidency reduced to a ceremonial role and the parliament strengthened. The KDP, which currently holds the presidency, opposed the move.
Other parties have joined Gorran in their stance and the president, Masoud Barzani, has himself said ahead of the independence referendum that the parliamentary system would be best for the Kurdistan Region.
The parliament last sat on Tuesday when it voted to postpone parliamentary and presidential elections and extend its own term.
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