KIU: Get rid of the presidency if vote not held with parliamentary election
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The KIU wants the post of the Kurdistan Region’s presidency abolished if concurrent parliamentary and presidential elections are not held on September 30.
"We, from the Kurdistan Islamic Union bloc explain our stance about the post and establishment of the Kurdistan Region presidency. We had to have a permanent constitution by 2007 and thus followed the parliamentary system. But unfortunately, due to political impasses, we never saw this constitution,” KIU said in a statement on Wednesday.
The KIU accuses the government of not following legislature passed last year.
"According to law No. 2 in 2017, the parliamentary and presidential elections should be held simultaneously on September 30, but it was not announced by the prime minister,” it added.
The power of the presidency authorities were distributed to legislative, executive and judiciary branches after Masoud Barzani stepped down on November 1, 2017.
“There are two bills in the parliament now calling for the suspension of the post of the president until the next round of the parliament,” added the KIU.
The KIU blamed Kurdistan’s current political stalemate on the issue of the presidency, calling it a “sabotage of the parliament for two years.”
Parliamentary and presidential elections had been scheduled for November 1, 2017, but were postponed as the Kurdistan Region faced uncertainty because of Baghdad’s response to the independence vote and military takeover of the disputed areas.
The faction made it clear that further suspending the post "will have negative implications" and will not resolve the issue, but that the solution is the abolishing of the presidency.
KIU offered the solution to "include the presidential elections for September 30."
The Change Movement (Gorran), the KIU, and the Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) are in opposition to Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) — traditionally the two largest parties in the Kurdistan Region which overwhelmingly secured more seats in Iraq’s disputed parliamentary election on May 12.
Gorran holds the second-most seats in Kurdistan’s parliament and called Barzani’s twice-extended term as president illegal.
"We, from the Kurdistan Islamic Union bloc explain our stance about the post and establishment of the Kurdistan Region presidency. We had to have a permanent constitution by 2007 and thus followed the parliamentary system. But unfortunately, due to political impasses, we never saw this constitution,” KIU said in a statement on Wednesday.
The KIU accuses the government of not following legislature passed last year.
"According to law No. 2 in 2017, the parliamentary and presidential elections should be held simultaneously on September 30, but it was not announced by the prime minister,” it added.
The power of the presidency authorities were distributed to legislative, executive and judiciary branches after Masoud Barzani stepped down on November 1, 2017.
“There are two bills in the parliament now calling for the suspension of the post of the president until the next round of the parliament,” added the KIU.
The KIU blamed Kurdistan’s current political stalemate on the issue of the presidency, calling it a “sabotage of the parliament for two years.”
Parliamentary and presidential elections had been scheduled for November 1, 2017, but were postponed as the Kurdistan Region faced uncertainty because of Baghdad’s response to the independence vote and military takeover of the disputed areas.
The faction made it clear that further suspending the post "will have negative implications" and will not resolve the issue, but that the solution is the abolishing of the presidency.
KIU offered the solution to "include the presidential elections for September 30."
The Change Movement (Gorran), the KIU, and the Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) are in opposition to Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) — traditionally the two largest parties in the Kurdistan Region which overwhelmingly secured more seats in Iraq’s disputed parliamentary election on May 12.
Gorran holds the second-most seats in Kurdistan’s parliament and called Barzani’s twice-extended term as president illegal.