PUK comments on Federal Court's decision and election developments in Kurdistan

Shafaq News/ The spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Saadi Pira, commented on the Iraqi Federal Court's decision to cancel the quota seats in the Kurdistan Parliament and entrust the scheduling of parliamentary elections to the Region's presidency.

The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq, the highest judicial authority in the country, issued two decisions on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, that have sparked anger and criticism among Kurdish politicians.

The Court declared the Kurdistan Region parliament's 11 minority seats "unconstitutional." It said the parliament has only 100 members, not 111 as before.

During a press conference, Pira clarified, "PUK did not advocate for canceling the quota seats; rather, the request was to allocate the quota among governorates where the respective components reside. This approach aims to avoid restricting it to a single city, such as Erbil, which is under the control of one party. Entering elections with 10 pre-allocated seats for one party is deemed unreasonable."

Regarding the election date in Kurdistan, Pira welcomed the decision, noting that the "reevaluation of Election Law Number One stemmed from a complaint by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan concerning the division of elections from one district to four districts."

"We believe this is within the framework of the governorates' equal right to run for candidacy," he stated. "Given the mutual accusations by the parties about the lack of integrity in the elections, affecting voting for one governorate at the expense of others, dividing the region into four electoral districts is expected to put an end to these accusations."

On Sunday, the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, signed an order, setting the date for the sixth session of the Kurdistan Parliament elections on June 10.

So far, the electoral map of the Kurdistan Region may witness a significant shift in the upcoming parliamentary elections, according to experts in the electoral field.

The political parties have not yet formed clear alliances or coalitions. At the same time, the citizens urge to remove the barriers that impede the electoral process and stress the importance of holding the elections on time.

Noteworthy, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced on Sunday that it opened the registration for the Kurdish political parties and blocs that want to take part in the Kurdistan Region Parliament elections in 2024, from March 5 to March 14, which cannot be extended.