Hemin Hawrami on the Kurdistan Region's next parliamentary cabinet

  

Hawrami is from Halabja, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Salahaddin University-Erbil. 
He wrote for KDP media and on Kurdish and regional politics during his student years and was also an active member of the Kurdistan Students Union. 

 

Hawrami served in the office of Masoud Barzani, head of the KDP and president of the Kurdistan Region, from 2004 until 2010. He was appointed as the head of KDP Foreign Relations Office in July 2011. 

Hawrami was elected as Deputy Speaker of the parliament in February 2019.

This is an edited version of the interview

Hiwa Jamal: It is said that there are not many ministerial posts left for KDP in the new cabinet. How many ministries will you have in the new cabinet?

Hemin Hawrami: For the KDP, what is important is the formation of a strong government that represents the majority of strong blocs within the Kurdistan parliament, the ability to respond to demands of the people of Kurdistan, political stability, provision of more services, and maintaining the reform plan initiated in the fourth cabinet.

 

We [the cabinet] have 19 ministries, plus three Region ministers, numbering 22 in total. The PUK have taken five ministries, plus a Region minister post, the Change Movement has taken four ministries...As you know, a ministerial post was given to our Christian brothers. Another ministry goes to the Socialist party. So, of 19 ministries, the KDP will have just eight.

Are you not going to give a ministry to the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan?

We haven’t decided yet.  All we [KDP] have now are eight ministries. The parties set to be involved in the formation of the government do not necessarily have to have a ministerial post. There are other posts--like advisers, deputy ministers, general managers and even boards.  Even though we have 45 seats, the KDP is receiving just eight of the ministries.

Are there any other parties that are going to participate in the government, but won’t be receiving a post?

Our door is open. The parties that maintain posts in the Council of Ministers include the PUK, Gorran [the Change Movement], Christians, Turkmen, the Socialist party, and the KDP.

According to your government formation agreement with Gorran, the new cabinet should be smaller than before. But now it will be big?

First of all, any downsizing of government structure requires changes of law, that would include the Council of Ministers Law and law ministries. And since in this - the fifth round of the parliament - we did not give any mandate to the previous council of ministers, it will remain as such. 

 

According to the previous ministries law, the government should include 19 ministries, plus three Region ministers. This cabinet will be formed on that basis. The Council of Ministers can submit a bill to the parliament asking for some ministries to be combined, or decrease the number of ministries. 

 

According to the current law, we have three Region ministers and only one of them has a clear task which is the Region minister for parliamentary affairs. The other two are just Region ministers, and I would like to make clear, they are not ministers for minority communities as claimed by media outlets. The duty of the other two Region ministers will be assigned by the prime minister. There is not going to be a minister tasked with dealing with ethnic community affairs. Moreover, no law mentions that there should be a Region minister for Baghdad affairs. Of the three Region ministers, one is for the KDP, one for Turkmen, and one for the PUK.

What mechanism is the KDP using to assign its ministers?

The KDP has long formed a high-level committee from the politburo, with a representative from the office of Mr. President [Masoud Barzani] and also the office of Mr. Nechirvan Barzani and also a representative from the office of Mr. Masrour Barzani, to discuss the precise mechanisms to elect ministers. 

 

We have been looking for strong CVs for a long time now to find people to fill the posts that the KDP holds.  Unlike other parties who try to find a job for their people, we are looking for those people who fit the posts. We consider their qualifications, loyalty, and some specialties.

Have you looked for people for the minister posts only within the KDP?

Not necessarily. But they should be the kind of people who  agree with the KDP's politics and the government’s agenda. We have looked for people outside the KDP ranks. As far as we are aware, what is really important for Mr. Masrour is the strength of those people, people with expertise in their fields to add something , not those you find a job for them and after four years, they just retire. The KDP wants its ministers to work.

Has the KDP prepared the list of its ministers?

The KDP is capable and makes a final decision to decide on its ministers. All it needs is just a one hour meeting for the politburo to [evaluate] the CVs. The CVs have already been short-listed. For each minister, we have now two, three, maximum four [shortlisted] candidates. I guess by June 27, the KDP's names will be ready.

Is there a quota for women for the KDP candidates?

The KDP will have female ministers, but not on the basis of a quota. The KDP only needs qualified people. Maybe sometimes a woman is more qualified for the job. In that case, we will have a female minister.

How many candidates will be presented to Masrour Barzani to decide on?

Mr. Masrour has followed three criteria in the process of the election of each minister; loyalty, capacity and specialty. The KDP is a nationwide force. The party has taken into account the representation of geographical areas for the posts, too. As far as I know, the Change Movement is most likely going to prepare the list of their ministers before July 27. The socialist minister, the Christians minister and the Turkmen minister, they are all ready.

Is the PUK going to submit the name of their ministers on time?

KDP-PUK relations won’t be severed. We are two responsible parties in this country. We will maintain our political and friendly relations. The KDP and PUK have passed the civil war era and other stages that were much tougher. We are optimistic and have asked the PUK and hope that they will submit the list of their ministers before July 28, as per our agreement. 

 

Interview translated by Zhelwan Z. Wali