ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has reshuffled his coalition cabinet amid an escalation of protests across the Kurdistan region over unpaid salaries.
Five ministerial posts, including that of Peshmarga, finances, religious affairs and the Investment Board will temporarily be filled by other cabinet members while new ministers are appointed for the positions in the coming weeks.
The ousted ministries had been held by members of the Goran Movement whose share in the coalition government emerged after inconclusive elections in 2013.
The Goran, or Change, Movement, was established in 2009 and rapidly rose to power as an opposition group, particularly in Sulaimani province.
Barzani met with the five ministers Monday in Erbil to officially ask them to submit their resignation.
Sources told Rudaw that Barzani had expressed “deep concern and disappointment” over Goran’s alleged involvement in attacks on local offices of his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Sulaimani province.
Angry protesters stormed and torched several offices of the ruling KDP across the country last week in a series of violent demonstrations that sent shockwaves through the region.
Police said more than 100 protesters were detained and charged with “vandalism” and “unlawful activity” while non-violent protest are allowed to continue.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been unable to pay the monthly wages of over 1 million civil servants since July as the region struggles to manage a refugee crisis and hold back militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) along its southern and western borders.
In a dramatic turn of events on Sunday, the KDP announced it will no longer recognize Parliament Speaker Youssef Muhammad, from the Goran movement, whom the KDP accuses of biased rulings.
On Monday, Muhammad’s convoy was denied entry to Erbil, where regional parliament is located, and he returned to Sulaimani.
Muhammad told Rudaw later he would continue his duties as a speaker in the parliament’s local office in Sulaimani. He described the move as “dangerous and an attempt at a coup.”
Barzani has reportedly told Goran ministers that the KDP and the government will no longer consider Muhammad as the Speaker and the position will be filled in the coming weeks.
After months of wrangling, a new broad-based consensus government was formed in 2014 which included virtually all political parties in the Kurdistan region.
With only 38 of the regional parliament’s 111 seats, the KDP struggled to form a fragile consensus government after 2013 elections with its rival parties including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), 18 seats, and Goran Movement, 24 seats.
Other groups were given ministerial posts to ensure stability in the volatile region.
The KDP said in a statement on Sunday the current Speaker of Parliament had been appointed to the position because of political agreements between the KDP and Goran and could be revised if deemed necessary.
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