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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The parliament of the Kurdistan region suspended an emergency session meant to reach agreement on the presidential term of Masoud Barzani after the required number of lawmakers failed to attend.
Only 53 parliamentarians showed up at the session in Erbil on Wednesday, not enough to reach the 56 representatives needed to obtain a quorum.
The boycott was led by the 38 MPs of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who refused to attend the session. The four other major political parties, including the Gorran (Change) Movement, Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK), Kurdistan Islamic League (KIL), and some members of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) attended the session.
Barzani’s presidency is set to expire on Thursday and his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has asked for an extension, which would be his second since 2013. The issue has polarized political parties in the region's already factional parliament.
The KDP claimed in a statement to claimed the political parties had reached a consensus on the issue after Tuesday meetings, but several parliamentarians have tried to sabotage the agreements that had been reached.
"We repeat that the question of the Kurdistan region's presidency should be resolved only through consensus," said Omed Khoshnaw, the head of KDP caucus in parliament. "We call on all parliament factions to turn a new page in the political life of the region."
Birzu Majid, head of the Gorran Movement bloc in parliament, Brzu Majid had harsh words for the boycotting MPs.
“History will have no mercy for them,” Majid said.
Majid added that the Kurdish parliament is the most legitimate decision-making body in the region and any attempt to undercut the legislative body is illegal.
Hawraman Gechneyee, a KIL parliamentarian, told Rudaw the officials who refused to attend would be held responsible.
“They [PMs] committed a sinful act, because they reneged on their commitments,” Gechneyee said.
KIU parliamentarians called for Wednesday's session to be postponed until Sunday, urging the parties to wait for the outcome of a meeting among the five biggest parties.
On Tuesday, political parties in Kurdistan held a meeting that lasted until dawn on Wednesday. Another meeting was expected later Wednesday among five of the main political parties.
Representatives from the United States and Britain attended the Tuesday meeting of the 16 Kurdish political parties in Erbil to discuss whether or not to extend Barzani's presidency.
After the meeting, Muhammad Haji Mahmoud, the secretary-general of the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party also known as Kaka Hama, told Rudaw that US, UK and UN representatives asked the Kurdish parties to postpone political reforms for another two years and allow Barzani to stay in office.
The issue of the presidency has polarized the Kurdish politics and street. Those favoring a Barzani extension argue that with the Kurds at war with the Islamic State, it is a poor time to hold elections.
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