ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced on Wednesday that it will resume participation in Iraqi parliament sessions, weeks after suspending its attendance.
In late April, the KDP decided to boycott all legislative sessions following parliament’s decision to proceed with a session that resulted in the election of Nizar Amedi, a member of its rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as the president of Iraq despite KDP opposition.
Following Amedi’s election, the KDP said it rejected “the manner” in which he was chosen. “We do not recognize anyone designated in that manner as a representative of the Kurdistan majority and will not deal with them,” the party said at the time.
Sherwan Dubardani, a KDP lawmaker, told Rudaw ahead of the session that it was “fundamentally illegal” because, under Article 37 of parliament’s by-laws, the speaker and both deputy speakers must approve the session’s agenda. Farhad Atroushi, a KDP deputy speaker, also rejected the session.
Under Iraq’s informal power-sharing system, the presidency is allocated to the Kurds, the parliamentary speakership to Sunni Arabs, and the premiership to Shiite parties.
Following the boycott, several Iraqi parliamentary blocs engaged with the KDP and urged it to return to Baghdad and resume participation in sessions.
On Wednesday, the KDP bloc said its decision came after reaching “positive understandings” with political forces, particularly following a recent visit by Ali al-Zaidi, along with a delegation from the Coordination Framework, to Erbil. This was followed by a visit by a KDP delegation to Baghdad.
The KDP said its decision to end the boycott reflects its “legal and national responsibilities” as the largest Kurdish bloc in parliament, holding 29 seats.
It added that returning to parliament aims to “closely monitor the implementation of agreements and understandings reached to safeguard the constitutional, legal, and financial rights and entitlements [of the Kurdistan Region] within the Iraqi parliament.”
The party said it will remain "at the forefront of advocating for the rights of the people of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole."
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment