ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has announced it will hold its long-delayed congress later in 2020, as decided by a leadership meeting earlier this week. The KDP is the largest party in the Kurdistan Region, with 45 parliamentary seats. It has not held a congress since December 2010. "We all agree that a qualitative congress must be held as we have not held a congress since 2010," KDP Leadership Council member Ahmed Kani told Rudaw. The congress will be the fourteenth in the party’s 73-year history. Party leaders have attributed the gap between congresses to a string of events, including the fight against Islamic State, the Kurdistan Region's unsuccessful independence referendum in 2017, and the subsequent loss of territories it once controlled to Iraq. Hiwa Gaylani, a member of the KDP Leadership Council hinted that the congress is likely to be held in June "if the atmosphere is calm." A June congress date was earlier put forward by Fazil Mirani, secretary of the party's politburo. Among changes expected to be made to the KDP in the upcoming congress is a reorganisation of the party’s structure. "There are two points of views; the first group is of the idea that…we should eliminate some organs and establish new ones," Chnar Saad, head of the KDP’s Academia, Research and Study Centre told Rudaw on Monday. "The second group has suggested for KDP Provincial Leadership Councils be limited," he added. According to decisions made during the 2010 congress, Erbil, Duhok, Sulaimani and Kirkuk provinces should each have a leadership council of their own. "In the end, it is the congress which will have a last say on all the suggestions," Saad said. The party's elections body has also embarked on preparations for congress. According to the KDP's internal bylaws, women should constitute 10 percent of the leadership council. However, Shireen Amedi, deputy head of the KDP Elections, is against applying the gender quota to next congress’ leadership council. "For the fourteenth congress, we will say that there should not be any quota system for women and that women must considered partners," Amedi said. "We have faith in the abilities of women and they can reach the leadership council based on their own qualifications," she added. Two other Kurdish parties - the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) - held their party congresses last month. The Change Movement (Gorran) held its most recent congress in September 2019.
