ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The widely anticipated population census began across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday, with officials calling on citizens to cooperate with the process.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia’ al-Sudani took part in the census and provided the necessary information about his family to the census teams, according to a statement from his office.
The Iraqi premier “reaffirmed his call for all citizens to collaborate with the census teams and share accurate and truthful information, emphasizing the importance of the resulting database in shaping development plans and improving services.”
Iraqi Planning Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim stressed on the importance of the census and urged cooperation with the teams.
“The population census is of exceptional importance because it will contribute to ensuring social and economic justice and improving the level of services in all fields,” Tamim said, as cited by state media INA.
The minister urged Iraqis to cooperate with the census teams by receiving them and providing accurate information.
The first phase of data collection ran from Saturday to Tuesday night, during which the enumerators recorded family members’ names, relationships, genders and dates of birth.
During the second phase on Wednesday and Thursday, the enumerators inquire about any recent births or deaths in the family, according to Mahmoud Osman, the executive director Kurdistan Region census.
The census data will be recorded based on information on the national identity card.
The long-awaited process has raised concerns among some Kurdish officials about the effect of the historic demographic changes in the disputed areas, especially in the oil-rich Kirkuk.
Natives of the disputed areas on Tuesday returned en masse to their provinces to be registered as a resident of their hometowns in the significant census.
“Return to your homes, today is the last opportunity,” Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Planning Minister Dara Rashid urged the people of the disputed areas on Tuesday.
“Whoever needs any support, who does not have a place [to stay]… we as the [KRG]… will fully support them,” Rashid assured.
Kirkuk’s Kurdish population is expected to have significantly decreased after the Baath regime's Arabization process and the ousting of the Peshmerga in October 2017 following the Kurdish independence referendum when Iraqi forces re-entered Kirkuk. In the 1957 census, Kurds made up 48 percent of Kirkuk's population, Arabs 28 percent, and Turkmen 21 percent.
Kirkuk, along with other disputed territories in Diyala, Nineveh, and Salahaddin, has a diverse population and was subject to Arabization policies under Saddam Hussein’s rule, where Kurdish inhabitants were displaced and their lands given to Arab settlers. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution outlines a process for resolving disputes over these territories.
On Tuesday night, security forces at the Pirde checkpoint in Kirkuk prevented people returning from Erbil from entering the city to take part in the census.
Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha said during a Rudaw broadcast that he would resolve the issue and punish the checkpoint’s commander. Moments later the people were allowed to enter Kirkuk.
