PUK official: Multiple electoral districts system is better as it allows citizens to elect their representatives

Adviser to the Political Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Rezan Sheikh Diler, is surprised by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)'s insistence on holding the Kurdistan Parliament elections by a single district system, in contrast to its position on holding elections of the Iraqi Council of Representatives in a multiple electoral districts system.

"The KDP has always had excuses, whether in the Kurdistan Region or in Iraq... as it is known, the party prefers its own interests, but when its interests are threatened, it seeks to involve the people in it," Sheikh Diler said in an exclusive statement to PUKmedia.

"The KDP fought everyone to establish the multiple electoral districts system during the Iraqi parliamentary elections, but it is fighting today to use the single-electoral district system in the Kurdistan Region to continue electoral fraud," she added.

She indicated that the multiple districts system is better as it allows citizens to elect their representatives in their electoral districts, pointing out that the single district system is in the interest of the KDP and harmed the other political parties.

She stressed, that "if the KDP has confidence in obtaining real votes without including votes of dead people, it should not be afraid of the multiple electoral districts system."

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani issued a decree last month setting the date for the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election to October 1, 2022. Parliamentary elections are held every four years as stipulated in Article 8 of the Kurdistan Electoral Law.

There are many criticisms against the law as most Kurdish parties believe that it only serves one specific party who is using it for their interest.

A minimum quota of 30 percent of the parliamentary seats is reserved for female MPs, while 11 seats are allocated for parties that represent minorities. However, none of the minorities' 11 seats is filled with a representative from Slemani Governorate and its surroundings when there are many different minorities present in these regions. 

The Kurdistan Region held its fifth elections for the 111 seats of the parliament on September 30, 2018. Over one million people participated in the vote with a turnout of 59 percent.

The PUK bloc in the Kurdistan Parliament emphasized the need to amend the electoral law by reaching agreements with the other parties, rejecting the policy of individuality in decision-making.

Luqman Wardi, deputy head of the PUK bloc, told PUKmedia, that "individuality in decision-making in the Kurdistan Region has brought us to this stage... As a major force in the political scene in the Kurdistan Region, we believe that this policy must end for the sake of the future of our people, especially on national issues."

"Previous experiences showed that the political and economic decisions, taken through partisan individuality far from unity, are failed decisions and the people are paying the price of them," Wardi continued.

The number of Kurdish parties supporting the amendment of the electoral law in the Kurdistan Region continues to rise.

The heads of the Kurdistan Justice Group (KJG) and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) blocs in the Kurdistan Parliament also emphasized the necessity of amending the election law in the Kurdistan Region.

"The KJG supports amending the law and activating the Independent High Electoral Commission, due to several shortcomings in the old law... We are with holding the elections on time, but the KDP positions indicate that the latter has no intention of neither amending the electoral law in the Kurdistan Region nor holding elections," Abdul Sattar Majid, head of the KJG bloc, said during a press conference.

"Amending the election law in the Kurdistan Region has become a necessity... the Kurdistan Region must be distributed into several electoral districts," Sherko Jawdat, head of the KIU bloc, said during a televised statement on Tuesday.

Member of the Political Bureau of the PUK, Stran Abdullah, previously confirmed that the PUK seeks to amend the election law in the Kurdistan Region.

"The votes of minorities and the election law in the region serve a particular party," Abdullah said during a TV interview, stressing that the PUK is working to change the law in a way that serves the people of the Kurdistan Region.

Abdullah indicated, "The PUK will enter the elections for the people to fulfill their aspirations. The election law has been amended several times in Iraq, so why is the election law not changed in the Kurdistan Region? What prevents that?"

"There is no balance in the representation of the governorates in the Kurdistan Parliament as there is a major imbalance in the voter register, in addition to the fact that the Electoral Commission in the Kurdistan Region needs to be changed," he pointed out.

"The elections are not only setting a date but require preparations and other things... you can't talk about changing in the democratic system without providing the requirements for conducting the elections transparently and fairly," he said.



PUKmedia