Leader Barzani demands inclusive census, warns against majority rule in Iraq

Shafaq News/ Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani called, on Thursday, for a transparent and inclusive national census that accurately represents Iraq’s ethnic, religious, and sectarian diversity.

Addressing the Kurdistan Students and Youth Union Conference in Erbil, Barzani warned against efforts to impose majority rule at the expense of national diversity, as enshrined in Iraq's constitution, urging a population census that takes into account the country's pluralism.

While reflecting on the post-2003 period, which he described as a “missed opportunity” to build a genuinely inclusive nation, Barzani recalled that Kurds returned to Baghdad by parliamentary vote to help shape a federal Iraq based on partnership, equilibrium, and mutual consent. “We agreed on three founding principles,” he said, “but none have been upheld.”

The Kurdish leader also pushed back against recent proposals to transform Iraq into a single electoral district without guarantees for equitable power-sharing, cautioning that reducing the political process to a contest between majorities and minorities might yield temporary advantages but would ultimately undermine national cohesion.

On the ongoing salary dispute between Baghdad and Erbil, Barzani sharply criticized the federal government's handling of public sector wages in the Kurdistan Region, dismissing its approach as “politically driven and deeply unjust.” “The sacrifices of our people were never about salaries. If that were the case, previous regimes would have been accepted.”

“Baghdad’s actions appear driven by internal political calculations rather than constitutional obligations. This is not how partners in a federal system should be treated,” he explained, calling the situation “unacceptable.”