Many of Iraq’s 'Kurds not in favour of early elections' set by PM Kadhimi: KDP election chief
The head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) elections body does not think Iraq’s Kurdish leadership will be in favour of early parliamentary elections next year as announced by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in a televised statement last week.
Khasraw Goran told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman in a television interview Monday that the Iraqi government must solve a number of obstacles before elections can take place as scheduled on June 6, 2021. This includes earmarking $30 million in funds for the elections commission, the endorsement of the date by Iraq’s parliament, as well as the body passing the amended electoral law, before dissolving itself in preparation for early elections.
The official argues that many Kurds are not in favour of the current proposed draft electoral law, which would be applied to the early elections, saying they generally prefer the 2005 electoral law. The former set of regulations considered Iraq a single constituency, and allowed Kurds living in areas where they are a minority to cast ballots for candidates running in different parts of the country.
Subsequent electoral laws passed in 2014 and 2018 divided the country for elections into independent constituencies, made up of the 18 governorates. The amended electoral law currently in parliament proposes the further division of each province into multiple electoral districts, the mechanics of which Goran says are not yet clear.
Iraq's election commission announced last week that they are ready for early elections on the condition that certain demands are met, including passing the new electoral law and allocating a budget for the vote. The body was overhauled after complaints about how it handled allegations of fraud in the 2018 parliamentary vote.
The country’s last parliamentary election was held on May 12, 2018.
Iraq's electoral system, built after the US invasion of 2003, divides the country into its ethnic components, divvying up power among Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. One demand of protesters in late 2019 was to throw out the old political battle lines and create a technocratic government that serves all Iraqis.
What is the KDP's stance on the decision to hold early elections in Iraq on June 6, 2021 as declared by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi? Is it an apt time?
There are a bunch of obstacles in the way of holding elections at this stage, something that has been clearly pointed out by Iraq's elections commission, the parliament and political parties. The elections commission has stated that three conditions should be met before they decide to embark on making the preparations for the election; first, the electoral law must be prepared [by the parliament]. It is true that the existing draft has stated that each province will have some electoral districts. But, how and how many? This is not clear yet, because in Iraq there are provinces whose populations are above one million people, while others are under one million. There are provinces whose population surpasses seven million. Thus, first and foremost, this matter must be solved.
The commission's second condition is that Iraqi parliament must fill the empty seats on Iraq's Federal Supreme Court [the only body legally empowered to endorse the election results], either through the law or another way, so they can endorse the election results.
The third condition is that they require a budget which should not be less than $30 million amounting to 3,500,000,000 dinars. The commission says once these requirements are met, they can start their work.
Are these conditions easy or difficult to achieve?
The conditions are easy. The draft electoral law could be passed in one week if there was a consensus. However, not all sides are in favour of the draft electoral law. Some parties who had voted for the draft have now backtracked. Others prefer the 2014 and 2018 electoral laws, which stipulated that Iraq had 18-electoral districts. In other words, each province will have to have one single district. We, as Kurds, may prefer to resort to the 2005 electoral law which considers Iraq as one single district. In this case, Kurds could secure more seats and Kurdish votes in southern Iraq including Baghdad would not go to waste. This debate is still ongoing. It takes time for the parliament to agree on an electoral law.
What is the stance of the Kurdish leadership on turning Iraq into multiple electoral districts and the amended electoral law as a whole? Do Kurds see the existing draft electoral law as harmful to them?
I have already engaged in talks with some other Kurdistani parties. We would prefer and will try to hold elections based on the 2005 electoral law. Though there are many Iraqi parties standing against this viewpoint, Kurds can achieve something if they are united by lobbying other parties to side with us. At the end of the day, every party must commit to any decision made by parliament.
If parliament agrees on multiple electoral districts, what will the scale of the damage be to the disputed areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad?
Each law has negative and positive aspects. We have studied the sections of this draft law very precisely. We have already informed the KDP bloc in Iraqi parliament of our party's stance on the law. If any changes are made to the draft law, we will definitely study it, and in coordination with the other Kurdistani blocs in the Iraqi parliament, try to unite the Kurdish political discourse in Baghdad in favor of our people, especially in the Kurdistani areas outside of the Kurdistan Region’s administration and even inside the Kurdistan Region.
On a separate note, the decision to hold early elections itself is controversial in the first place. For example, according to Article 64 of the Iraqi constitution, a third of parliamentarians must call for the dissolution of parliament and a vast majority have to endorse it. Has it been done yet? Then, if the prime minister calls for it, he must make the call through the president and the president should call on the parliament. This whole process requires plenty of time.
Before the elections are held, the parliament must be dissolved. And 60 days after the parliament is dissolved, the elections must be held... There are some parties who are doing their best in parliament in order for the holding of early elections. There are many other sides who remain opposed to early elections and are in favour of having this round of parliament finish its tenure. The United Nations is on the line, in which they will have a say which might not make some parties happy.
Who is for and who is against the anticipated early election?
As far as I am aware of, some parties openly oppose the early elections including the Sairoon Bloc. Maybe Nasr Alliance is for it. But, the majority of the other parties are against it. On election day, it will become clear to all who is rallying for or against it.
Are Kurds for it?
I do not think Kurds are for the early elections. Yet, we have not started official talks with the Kurdish parties with regard to the early elections. We have heard that some [Kurdish] parties want the elections to be held once the tenure of the current government is over, while others do agree with the early elections.
As the KDP, what is your party's opinion about the decision to hold early elections?
As the KDP, we are not ready to say our opinion yet. Let us see what the electoral law will look like, or what electoral law will be used [for the elections]. Once that becomes clear, together with the other Kurdistani parties, we will try to agree on a mechanism, because there might be provincial elections held. As you are aware, we have already established a joint Kurdistani list which is made up of 31 parties. If it happens that both elections are to be held on the same day, we will have to review the agreement once again and have Kurds express their unanimity.
There are conflicting points of view, with some sides saying the prime minister does not have the power to announce a date for the early elections. From a legal point of view, who has the power to determine a date for the early elections?
From a legal perspective, the government in coordination with the parliament and the elections commission must agree on a date for a normal election. But for early elections, two things are needed; first, the prime minister through the president can call on the speaker of the parliament to hold early elections. Second, a third of the parliament must call for the dissolution of parliament and then for early elections. What has been done now has only gone through the prime minister. This should be gone ahead in a legal manner and go to parliament to be endorsed.
Can the early elections really be held on the announced date? Or is it just a distraction used to shift the focus of Iraqis from the existing economic and health crises that have befallen the country?
The idea of holding early elections stems from pressure from the street and protesters, as well as the United Nations. Perhaps many sides publically announce that they are in favour of early elections, but in reality, this is not the case. If there is real willingness, the elections will be held on June 6, because there are at least 10 months left. If we pass the coronavirus crisis, an adequate budget is allocated for the elections commission, and the draft electoral law is turned into law as soon as possible, the elections will definitely be held. But it bears in mind; is there really the will to hold early elections?
Translation by Zhelwan Z. Wali
Khasraw Goran told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman in a television interview Monday that the Iraqi government must solve a number of obstacles before elections can take place as scheduled on June 6, 2021. This includes earmarking $30 million in funds for the elections commission, the endorsement of the date by Iraq’s parliament, as well as the body passing the amended electoral law, before dissolving itself in preparation for early elections.
The official argues that many Kurds are not in favour of the current proposed draft electoral law, which would be applied to the early elections, saying they generally prefer the 2005 electoral law. The former set of regulations considered Iraq a single constituency, and allowed Kurds living in areas where they are a minority to cast ballots for candidates running in different parts of the country.
Subsequent electoral laws passed in 2014 and 2018 divided the country for elections into independent constituencies, made up of the 18 governorates. The amended electoral law currently in parliament proposes the further division of each province into multiple electoral districts, the mechanics of which Goran says are not yet clear.
Iraq's election commission announced last week that they are ready for early elections on the condition that certain demands are met, including passing the new electoral law and allocating a budget for the vote. The body was overhauled after complaints about how it handled allegations of fraud in the 2018 parliamentary vote.
The country’s last parliamentary election was held on May 12, 2018.
Iraq's electoral system, built after the US invasion of 2003, divides the country into its ethnic components, divvying up power among Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. One demand of protesters in late 2019 was to throw out the old political battle lines and create a technocratic government that serves all Iraqis.
What is the KDP's stance on the decision to hold early elections in Iraq on June 6, 2021 as declared by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi? Is it an apt time?
There are a bunch of obstacles in the way of holding elections at this stage, something that has been clearly pointed out by Iraq's elections commission, the parliament and political parties. The elections commission has stated that three conditions should be met before they decide to embark on making the preparations for the election; first, the electoral law must be prepared [by the parliament]. It is true that the existing draft has stated that each province will have some electoral districts. But, how and how many? This is not clear yet, because in Iraq there are provinces whose populations are above one million people, while others are under one million. There are provinces whose population surpasses seven million. Thus, first and foremost, this matter must be solved.
The commission's second condition is that Iraqi parliament must fill the empty seats on Iraq's Federal Supreme Court [the only body legally empowered to endorse the election results], either through the law or another way, so they can endorse the election results.
The third condition is that they require a budget which should not be less than $30 million amounting to 3,500,000,000 dinars. The commission says once these requirements are met, they can start their work.
Are these conditions easy or difficult to achieve?
The conditions are easy. The draft electoral law could be passed in one week if there was a consensus. However, not all sides are in favour of the draft electoral law. Some parties who had voted for the draft have now backtracked. Others prefer the 2014 and 2018 electoral laws, which stipulated that Iraq had 18-electoral districts. In other words, each province will have to have one single district. We, as Kurds, may prefer to resort to the 2005 electoral law which considers Iraq as one single district. In this case, Kurds could secure more seats and Kurdish votes in southern Iraq including Baghdad would not go to waste. This debate is still ongoing. It takes time for the parliament to agree on an electoral law.
What is the stance of the Kurdish leadership on turning Iraq into multiple electoral districts and the amended electoral law as a whole? Do Kurds see the existing draft electoral law as harmful to them?
I have already engaged in talks with some other Kurdistani parties. We would prefer and will try to hold elections based on the 2005 electoral law. Though there are many Iraqi parties standing against this viewpoint, Kurds can achieve something if they are united by lobbying other parties to side with us. At the end of the day, every party must commit to any decision made by parliament.
If parliament agrees on multiple electoral districts, what will the scale of the damage be to the disputed areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad?
Each law has negative and positive aspects. We have studied the sections of this draft law very precisely. We have already informed the KDP bloc in Iraqi parliament of our party's stance on the law. If any changes are made to the draft law, we will definitely study it, and in coordination with the other Kurdistani blocs in the Iraqi parliament, try to unite the Kurdish political discourse in Baghdad in favor of our people, especially in the Kurdistani areas outside of the Kurdistan Region’s administration and even inside the Kurdistan Region.
On a separate note, the decision to hold early elections itself is controversial in the first place. For example, according to Article 64 of the Iraqi constitution, a third of parliamentarians must call for the dissolution of parliament and a vast majority have to endorse it. Has it been done yet? Then, if the prime minister calls for it, he must make the call through the president and the president should call on the parliament. This whole process requires plenty of time.
Before the elections are held, the parliament must be dissolved. And 60 days after the parliament is dissolved, the elections must be held... There are some parties who are doing their best in parliament in order for the holding of early elections. There are many other sides who remain opposed to early elections and are in favour of having this round of parliament finish its tenure. The United Nations is on the line, in which they will have a say which might not make some parties happy.
Who is for and who is against the anticipated early election?
As far as I am aware of, some parties openly oppose the early elections including the Sairoon Bloc. Maybe Nasr Alliance is for it. But, the majority of the other parties are against it. On election day, it will become clear to all who is rallying for or against it.
Are Kurds for it?
I do not think Kurds are for the early elections. Yet, we have not started official talks with the Kurdish parties with regard to the early elections. We have heard that some [Kurdish] parties want the elections to be held once the tenure of the current government is over, while others do agree with the early elections.
As the KDP, what is your party's opinion about the decision to hold early elections?
As the KDP, we are not ready to say our opinion yet. Let us see what the electoral law will look like, or what electoral law will be used [for the elections]. Once that becomes clear, together with the other Kurdistani parties, we will try to agree on a mechanism, because there might be provincial elections held. As you are aware, we have already established a joint Kurdistani list which is made up of 31 parties. If it happens that both elections are to be held on the same day, we will have to review the agreement once again and have Kurds express their unanimity.
There are conflicting points of view, with some sides saying the prime minister does not have the power to announce a date for the early elections. From a legal point of view, who has the power to determine a date for the early elections?
From a legal perspective, the government in coordination with the parliament and the elections commission must agree on a date for a normal election. But for early elections, two things are needed; first, the prime minister through the president can call on the speaker of the parliament to hold early elections. Second, a third of the parliament must call for the dissolution of parliament and then for early elections. What has been done now has only gone through the prime minister. This should be gone ahead in a legal manner and go to parliament to be endorsed.
Can the early elections really be held on the announced date? Or is it just a distraction used to shift the focus of Iraqis from the existing economic and health crises that have befallen the country?
The idea of holding early elections stems from pressure from the street and protesters, as well as the United Nations. Perhaps many sides publically announce that they are in favour of early elections, but in reality, this is not the case. If there is real willingness, the elections will be held on June 6, because there are at least 10 months left. If we pass the coronavirus crisis, an adequate budget is allocated for the elections commission, and the draft electoral law is turned into law as soon as possible, the elections will definitely be held. But it bears in mind; is there really the will to hold early elections?
Translation by Zhelwan Z. Wali