ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc in the Iraqi parliament on Saturday announced it will boycott all future legislative sessions until further notice, following the legislature’s decision to proceed with the recent presidential election despite KDP's opposition.
“Based on the directives and guidance of our leadership, we have decided to boycott the sessions of the Council of Representatives until further notice,” the bloc said in a statement, adding that the decision came “following the clear violations of the Constitution and laws witnessed” in the legislature.
Iraq held legislative elections in early November, and in late December, parliament elected its speaker and two deputies. On Sunday, lawmakers elected the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) nominee, Nizar Amedi, as president after securing 227 votes in a second round requiring a simple majority in the 329-seat chamber.
“We reaffirm that safeguarding the constitutional rights of the people of Kurdistan and preserving the legitimacy of the political process take precedence over all considerations and interests,” the statement added.
Following Amedi’s election, the KDP said it rejects “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 in a statement on Sunday.
Disagreements between the KDP and the PUK over the presidency had stalled government formation, with both parties nominating candidates but failing to agree on a joint nominee.
Sherwan Dubardani, a lawmaker from the KDP bloc, told Rudaw last week before the session was held that “the session is fundamentally illegal because, according to Article 37 of the Parliament’s by-laws, the speaker and both deputy speakers must approve the session’s agenda.” Farhad Atroushi, a deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament from the KDP, had 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.
After a president is elected, they must, within 15 days of being sworn in, task the prime minister nominee from the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government.
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