Top Iraqi court defends suspension of provincial councils

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court made its verdict on Wednesday over parliament’s 2019 decision to dissolve provincial councils when their terms ended, stating the governing bodies’ terms should not be extended.

The Iraqi parliament voted in late October 2019 to dissolve the provincial councils, except for those within the Kurdistan Region. However, it decided to keep governors in office, assuming the roles of the councils but under the scrutiny of the central government. 

A lawsuit against the decision was filed in the Federal Supreme Court later the same year. The court declared its ruling on the case, defending parliament’s decision but stating the provincial councils should be suspended, not dissolved. 

“The continuation of the work of the elected councils, whether they are national councils or local bodies, after the end of their electoral cycle, represents a violation of the people's right to vote, elect and be nominated, and transgresses the will of the voter,” said the top court in a statement on Wednesday. 

“The period specified for the work of the provincial councils is obligatory and cannot be exceeded, as this is the right of the people and is exercised by them in direct periodic elections.”

The last provincial election in Iraq was on April 20, 2013, while the Kurdistan Region held its provincial election on April 30, 2014. 

The next provincial elections in Iraq were supposed to take place in 2018 but have been postponed to after the upcoming parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for October 10.

The federal court said when the provincial councils reach the end of their term, it “does not mean the abolition of the existence of the provincial councils as a constitutional local body, but rather the cessation of the continuation of the work of those councils for exceeding the specified period for them."