The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council has reallocated five seats in the Kurdistan Parliament for minority groups, including Turkmen, Christians and Armenians, following a controversial court ruling to remove eleven seats.
This decision ensures minority representation in the upcoming Kurdistan parliamentary elections, scheduled for 10 June, addressing the concerns of minority communities and balancing representation in the reduced 100-seat parliament.
Erbil (Hewlêr) and Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) will be allocated two seats each, representing Christian and Turkmen communities, and Duhok (Dihok) will be assigned one seat for the Armenians, the Election Judiciary Committee of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council announced on Tuesday.
“The decision of the election judiciary is binding for the commission,” Jumana Gelayi, spokesperson for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) stated. “The board of commissioners will determine the procedures for assigning these seats to the respective communities.”
This decision follows a ruling by Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court in February, which declared the previous allocation of 11 quota seats in the Kurdistan Parliament unconstitutional, reducing the total number of seats from 111 to 100. The ruling led to outrage from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), with leader Masoud Barzani threatening to boycott the elections, describing the decision as a “blow to partnership and coexistence.”
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In response to the court ruling in February, Yousif Yacoub Matti, head of the Bethnahrain (Bayt Nahrin) Patriotic Union, a Christian party, filed a complaint prompting the reallocation of five minority seats. “The seats must be divided among the three provinces of the Kurdistan Region; Sulaymaniyah two seats, Erbil two seats and Duhok one seat,” the judicial council stated.
The Kurdistan Region is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on 10 June, following nearly two years of delays. The new seat allocation goes some way to ensure Christian, Turkmen, and Armenian communities are represented in the 100-seat Kurdistan Parliament. This move aims to uphold the principles of fair representation as outlined in the Iraqi constitution.
The decision to reallocate five seats is viewed as a compromise to counteract the KDP’s repeated attempts to block the elections, which it considers unfavourable under the current conditions. Despite the top court ruling, it remains to be seen whether the vote will be held on its scheduled date.
