Kurdish Parliamentary elections are coming up. Here’s what to know.
Yasmeen Altaji | Oct. 14, 2024
Summary:
The Kurdish Parliamentary elections are set to take place on Oct. 20 after two years of delays.
Assyrian parties in the Athra Alliance, including the Assyrian Democratic Movement, have boycotted this election.
Minority seats were cut for the first time since the Parliament’s founding and partially reinstated.
KDP and PUK rivalry is at a reinvigorated high.
Minority seats slashed, parliament downsized
An Iraqi federal court ruling, brought about by a complaint from the KDP’s rival party, the PUK, slashed 11 minority seats in March, eventually reinstating five distributed across three governorates.
For the first time in its history, the Kurdish Parliament will allocate 5 of the 100 parliamentary seats to minorities across three governorates: two seats in Erbil, two in Sulaimani, and one in Duhok. In both Erbil and Sulaimaini, 1 seat is reserved for Christians and 1 for Turkmen. Duhok’s single minority seat is also reserved for Christians.
The Iraqi federal court had initially ruled in March that 11 minority seat would be cut from the parliament, downsizing the body from 111 seats to 100.
Past efforts from parties in the Athra Alliance have pushed for restriction of voting for the minority seats to minority constituents. Now, the coalition said, the new ruling is a setback. In an address in March, ADM secretary General Yacoob Yaqo said the decision “allowed quota seats to be seized by powerful political forces.”
Previously, the 11 minority seats were distributed among the general electorate, not linked to particular governorates. The new system more closely mirrors that in place in the federal Iraqi parliament.
Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac party boycotts
Four Assyrian parties, as part of a coalition called the Athra Alliance, have boycotted the upcoming election in response to an Iraqi high court ruling eliminating, then downsizing, minority quota seat distribution in the Kurdish Parliament. The Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa), the Assyrian Patriotic Party, the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union and the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council (Motwa), have not contested seats in this race.
The Athra Alliance, which had previously included five parties until the ADM absorbed the Sons of Mesopotamia earlier this year, denounced the high court’s original and amended decisions.
Some Assyrian candidates, though, are running for office on behalf of non-Athra Alliance Christian-identifying parties.
Heightened KDP-PUK rivalry
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan are at an intensified rivalry, as the PUK seeks to gain a hold on the parliament.
The PUK is capitalizing on public dissatisfaction with the KDP’s years of rule while the KDP works to reinforce its influence and strategic partnerships.
The rivalry intensifies against a backdrop of economic problems, regional tensions and the 2022 disputes over electoral law that delayed elections by two years.
Correction: A previous version of this article said Duhok’s sole minority seat was reserved for Armenians. While that was previously the case, Iraq’s election oversight committee reallocated the seat to Christians.