The decision to allocate only five quota seats for ethnic minorities in the Kurdistan Regional elections and the way the seats are distributed is unjust, the Kurdistan Region’s Minister of State for Minority Affairs said on Tuesday.
“Today’s decision is wrong, the distribution of the seats is wrong, this is unjust to the components,” Aydin Marouf told The New Region.
“The five seats are a great reduction from the previous 11 seats that were allocated for the components,” he added.
The decision allocating two seats for #Turkmen does not do them justice and it is a wrong decision, the #Kurdistan Region’s Minister of #Minority Affairs Aydin Marouf told the New Region on Tuesday.#TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/rJreCqtJN6
— The New Region (@thenewregion) May 21, 2024
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council on Tuesday decided to allocate five seats of the Kurdistan Regional parliament’s 100 seats to the minority components in the Kurdistan Region. The seats were distributed in a way where Sulaimani province would get one Christian and one Turkmen seat, Erbil would get one Christian and one Turkmen seat, and the remaining seat would go to Armenians in Duhok.
#Iraq's High Judicial Council has allocated five parliamentary seats for minorities in the #Kurdistan Region within the 100 seats of the #parliament, #IHEC spokesperson #Jumana al-Ghalayi told reporters.#Sulaimani and #Erbil provinces will receive two seats each, and #Duhok… pic.twitter.com/YrrmnYtgZs
— The New Region (@thenewregion) May 21, 2024
“After Kirkuk, Erbil has the most dense Turkmen population, now they have to run for one seat,” Marouf said, adding that the seats were not distributed in a way that reflects the population.
The decision came in response to a complaint from a Christian party in the Kurdistan Region after a Federal Supreme Court ruling in February removed the 11 seats allocated for minority components in the Regional parliament, however only five of the 11 were returned.
The Iraqi parliament on Monday published its schedule for a session set for Wednesday, during which the legislative body is set to vote on an amendment to the electoral commission law, extending its term by six months.
The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court earlier this month suspended preparations for the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections that were scheduled for June 10.
The decision was in light of an official lawsuit filed by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, against the President of the Board of Commissioners of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq and the distribution of seats across the electoral constituencies.
However, the Federal Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected KRG Prime Minister Barzani’s case, claiming that the matter had been decided through the Supreme Judicial Council’s decision.
Earlier this year, the Electoral Commission issued Law No. 7 of 2024 regarding the registration and approval of candidate lists for the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Article 2 of the law divided the Kurdistan Region into four electoral districts and specified the parliament's seat count at 100 only, nullifying the 11 seats allocated for minority quotas.
This move sparked discontent among several political parties, including the ruling KDP, prompting calls for the decision to be revoked due to its alleged unconstitutionality.
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