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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s top court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit by the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani against the division of seats for the constituencies, citing an earlier judicial decision that ordered the electoral body to allocate minority quota seats in the Region's legislature.
"The federal court rejects Kurdistan Region prime minister's lawsuit and overturns the provincial order regarding the unconstitutionality of Article 2 of the candidate registration and approval system due to the issuance of a judicial decision on the same subject," state-owned al-Sabah newspaper reported.
A Tuesday decision by the elections branch of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council stated that the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) is required to allocate five seats to the minorities in the Kurdistan Region's parliament, one seat in Duhok province, two seats in Erbil province, and two seats in Sulaimani province.
Earlier this month Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled to temporarily suspend working with Article 2 of the candidate registration and approval system for the Kurdistan Region’s elections until a ruling is made on the lawsuit by Barzani. The Article states that the Kurdistan parliament consists of 100 seats, allocating 38 seats for Sulaimani, 34 for Erbil, 25 for Duhok, and three for Halabja.
Barzani had called on the Iraqi top court to deem the Article “unconstitutional” as the division of seats for the constituencies was done based on the number of voters, instead of the number of inhabitants, which contradicts the Iraqi constitution and previous rulings of the Federal Supreme Court. The elimination of the minority seats was also deemed “unconstitutional” by Barzani, saying that it violated principles of fair representation for all of Iraq’s components, as laid out in the constitution.
Tuesday’s judicial council decision was in response to a complaint filed by Yousif Yacoub Matti, head of the Bethnahrain Patriotic Union, a Christian party that along with other minority parties said they would boycott the upcoming Kurdistan parliamentary elections.
According to the decision, “the seats must be divided among the three provinces of the Kurdistan Region; Sulaimani two seats, Erbil two seats, and Duhok one seat.”
IHEC spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalai told Rudaw that Erbil and Sulaimani will each receive one seat for the Christian and Turkmen components, while Duhok’s seat will be given to the Armenians.
In February, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court 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 ruling was strongly objected to by the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the party announced that it would not be partaking in the upcoming elections in protest. Most Christian and Turkmen political parties joined the KDP in boycotting the elections, demanding the restoration of the quota seats.
The Kurdistan Region is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on June 10, after nearly two years of delays. The temporary suspension implied a further delay in the process.
Despite the top court ruling, it remains unknown where the vote will be held on its scheduled date.
Updated at 3:21 pm
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