Kurdistan Region parliament blocs disagree over amending election laws
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The current single-circle voting system in the Kurdistan Region election laws creates an imbalanced representation, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) bloc in the Kurdistan Region parliament said on Wednesday, implying that the election laws need to be amended before the upcoming Kurdistan Region parliamentary election in October.
The PUK are joined by the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Justice Party (Komal), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) who also argue that the current commission and election laws are outdated and need to be amended. However, they face an opposition from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), who say that amending the laws requires an agreement of all the parliament blocs.
“Back then they [the Kurdistan Region election laws] were published in the simplest form… We believe it contains a lot of shortcomings,” said Ziad Jabar, head of the PUK bloc in the Kurdistan Region parliament in a press conference on Wednesday.
Jabar added that the single-circle voting system has created an imbalance in representing the cities and representing the Kurdish towns, believing that sending representatives from each province makes it easier to discuss the issues of the areas they represent.
The PUK bloc head also mentioned that according to an agreement between the PUK and the KDP, as well as an agreement between the KDP and Gorran, amending the election laws shall be through an agreement between the parties.
Zana Mala Khalid, head of the KDP bloc in the Kurdistan Region parliament, confirmed in a press conference on Tuesday that all 16 blocs in the parliament have signed an agreement which states that amending the laws should be done through reaching agreement with the blocs. “The PUK, as they always do, initially agreed and then broke the agreement,” he noted.
The current dispute between the Kurdish parliamentary blocs has led Speaker of Parliament Rewaz Fayaq to refrain from holding parliamentary sessions. The KDP believes that, through this act, the speaker has “completely supported only one party inside Kurdistan’s parliament,” presumably referring to the PUK.
Mala warned the speaker that they will be forced to apply their majority in the parliament, if she does not announce the parliamentary meetings.
“This is not a request to the Kurdistan parliament speaker, it is a warning. Because this is a violation of the regulations of the Kurdistan parliament,” Mala said.
Mala added that if the PUK are against holding the elections on time, they should inform them in order to discuss the matter. In return, Jabar stated that their party does not want to delay the elections and wants them to happen at their scheduled time.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in February issued a decree setting the date for the region’s parliamentary election to October 1, 2022.
Parliamentary elections are held at least every four years, according to Article 8 of the Kurdistan Electoral Law.
The Kurdistan Region held its fifth parliamentary elections for the 111-seat legislature on September 30, 2018. Over one million people participated in the vote, recording a turnout of 59 percent.
The KDP was the kingmaker of the vote, gaining over six hundred thousand votes and securing 45 seats.
A minimum quota of 30 percent of the parliamentary seats is reserved for female MPs, while 11 seats are allocated for parties that represent minorities.
The PUK are joined by the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Justice Party (Komal), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) who also argue that the current commission and election laws are outdated and need to be amended. However, they face an opposition from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), who say that amending the laws requires an agreement of all the parliament blocs.
“Back then they [the Kurdistan Region election laws] were published in the simplest form… We believe it contains a lot of shortcomings,” said Ziad Jabar, head of the PUK bloc in the Kurdistan Region parliament in a press conference on Wednesday.
Jabar added that the single-circle voting system has created an imbalance in representing the cities and representing the Kurdish towns, believing that sending representatives from each province makes it easier to discuss the issues of the areas they represent.
The PUK bloc head also mentioned that according to an agreement between the PUK and the KDP, as well as an agreement between the KDP and Gorran, amending the election laws shall be through an agreement between the parties.
Zana Mala Khalid, head of the KDP bloc in the Kurdistan Region parliament, confirmed in a press conference on Tuesday that all 16 blocs in the parliament have signed an agreement which states that amending the laws should be done through reaching agreement with the blocs. “The PUK, as they always do, initially agreed and then broke the agreement,” he noted.
The current dispute between the Kurdish parliamentary blocs has led Speaker of Parliament Rewaz Fayaq to refrain from holding parliamentary sessions. The KDP believes that, through this act, the speaker has “completely supported only one party inside Kurdistan’s parliament,” presumably referring to the PUK.
Mala warned the speaker that they will be forced to apply their majority in the parliament, if she does not announce the parliamentary meetings.
“This is not a request to the Kurdistan parliament speaker, it is a warning. Because this is a violation of the regulations of the Kurdistan parliament,” Mala said.
Mala added that if the PUK are against holding the elections on time, they should inform them in order to discuss the matter. In return, Jabar stated that their party does not want to delay the elections and wants them to happen at their scheduled time.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in February issued a decree setting the date for the region’s parliamentary election to October 1, 2022.
Parliamentary elections are held at least every four years, according to Article 8 of the Kurdistan Electoral Law.
The Kurdistan Region held its fifth parliamentary elections for the 111-seat legislature on September 30, 2018. Over one million people participated in the vote, recording a turnout of 59 percent.
The KDP was the kingmaker of the vote, gaining over six hundred thousand votes and securing 45 seats.
A minimum quota of 30 percent of the parliamentary seats is reserved for female MPs, while 11 seats are allocated for parties that represent minorities.