ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Monday announced that it will not be participating in the upcoming Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections, labeling it “illegal” and “unconstitutional”, following the ruling from Iraq’s top court to eliminate minority quota seats from the Kurdish legislature.
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court last month ruled that the 11 quota seats in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament reserved for ethnic and religious minorities were unconstitutional, effectively eliminating the seats.
The KDP "will not partake in an illegal and unconstitutional election under an imposed system,” read a statement from the party’s political bureau on Monday.
The KDP politburo said that the ruling was a continuation of the court’s “unconstitutional rulings against the Kurdistan Region in the past four years,” labeling it “a clear and dangerous violation of the constitution” and an attempt to “return Iraq to a centralized system.”
The statement noted that the KDP is confident that it continues to be the number one party in the Kurdistan Region, but stressed that the decision to not participate in the elections was made out of a sense of responsibility towards preserving the rights of the people of the Kurdistan Region and the democratic and federal system in Iraq.
“The KDP has always been an advocate for providing the principles and criteria for free and fair elections, which include, at least, the existence of a fair electoral law that guarantees the representation of all classes and communities of Kurdistan,” the statement added, claiming that eliminating the minority seats is a violation of the people’s will.
The statement cites multiple Articles of the Iraqi constitution which recognize the Kurdistan Region and its existing authorities as a federal region, and prioritizes the Region’s laws over the federal government in cases of dispute and cases where powers are not stipulated to be exclusive to the federal government.
“We believe it is in the interest of our people and homeland that our KDP does not succumb to the implementation of an unconstitutional ruling and an imposed system outside the will of the people of the Kurdistan Region and its constitutional institutions.”
The party also threatened that it would not be able to continue in the political process in Baghdad, if the State Administration Coalition does not uphold its national responsibilities of implementing the constitution and meet the political and administrative agreements of forming the current Iraqi government, headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.
The June 10 election will be unique in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary history, with fewer seats in the legislature, a new constituency system, and the poll being administered by the federal commission for the first time due to disagreements between the main Kurdish parties that resulted in a failure to renew the mandate of the regional electoral body as required by law.
The February ruling also divided the Kurdistan Region into four constituencies - Duhok, Erbil, Sulaimani, and Halabja - instead of the single-constituency system adopted in previous elections. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) stronghold Sulaimani is the most populous province and it will have the most seats in the parliament, with 38.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani on Saturday stated that the Kurdistan Region’s upcoming parliamentary election will be “more democratic.”
Several Turkmen and Christian parties have also previously declared that they will not be partaking in the June 10 elections in light of the court's ruling.
Lawmakers from the minority quota in the Kurdish and Iraqi parliaments are often criticized for not being the true faces of the populations they represent but rather agents of ruling parties.
Winning minority candidates with external party affiliations often receive tens of thousands of votes from districts in which the community has very minimal to no presence in, as big parties often mobilize scores of loyalists to tip these candidates over the line.
The KDP has been repeatedly accused by rival parties of using the minority seats for its own advantage.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani earlier this month announced that the new date for the elections was June 10, after more than a year and a half delay.
The election was initially scheduled for October 2022, but was repeatedly postponed because of disagreements between the political parties and pending court cases in Baghdad.
Updated at 3:01pm
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