Fate of Kurdish electoral commission unclear following parliament kerfuffle

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The reactivation of the Kurdistan Region’s electoral commission hangs in the balance with the Region’s two ruling parties claiming conflicting outcomes for Monday’s chaotic parliamentary session.

The Kurdistan Region’s Parliamentary Speaker Rewaz Fayaq on Monday said she was indefinitely adjourning the session set to discuss the reactivation of the electoral commission. She reiterated her party’s - Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) - protest that the item was added to the agenda later than what the bylaws permit.

Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami, a politburo member of The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), quickly cut off the speaker’s remarks, asking those opposing to raise their hands, before tens of angry MPs approached the podium in protest. Hawrami opposed the session being postponed and put the reactivation to a vote.

The KDP claims the commission has been reactivated after scoring the majority vote of 58 MPs, while the PUK refuses to acknowledge the vote, saying the deputy speaker has no authority to resume the session after it was adjourned by the speaker.

The office of the parliament published a statement following the kerfuffle saying that the electoral commission had been reactivated, contradicting a statement from Parliamentary Speaker Fayaq an hour earlier.

“No outcome will have legal or procedural value after the adjournment,” said Fayaq, adding that she has not granted anyone the authority to sign the parliament documents - a power solely reserved for the speaker according to the bylaws.

Hawrami responded with a statement of his own saying that due to the fact that the legal quorum was met and the session had already started, the speaker has no authority to make “illegal” assessment of her powers and adjourn the meeting.

“Because the parliamentary speaker left the session hall and the parliament building, she will be considered as absent,” noted Hawrami, saying the absentee status grants the deputy speaker all the powers of the speaker according to the bylaws.

Handren Mohammed, the head of the Kurdish election commission, told Rudaw English on Tuesday that they have received an official letter from the parliament to resume their works, adding that they will start preparations for the elections as soon as next week.

During a visit to the town of Akre, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani welcomed the parliament’s decision to reactivate the commission, saying there must be no obstacles in front of holding the elections later this year.

“I commend the parliament for this important decision, because the legitimacy of the Kurdistan Region was becoming truly questioned by our friends at home and abroad, on whether or not the people of Kurdistan believe in democracy and the electoral process,” said the PM.

The PUK politburo reaffirmed that the party will not acknowledge the vote conducted following the session’s adjournment, saying the KDP had violated previous understandings reached between the political blocs.

“We would like to remind all sides that the PUK is not a party that accepts imposition and surrenders to the will of another party,” read the statement from the politburo.

The parliament disagreement also jeopardizes the progress the two parties have made towards reaching an understanding in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in recent weeks. The recent reconciliation between the ruling parties was mainly driven by the need to hold the parliamentary election - set for November 18 - on time, after being postponed due to the continued disputes the year before.

Updated at 1pm with comments from Handren Mohammed, the head of the Kurdish election commission