The government's impositions and dealings result in an empty parliament

Reports 11:24 AM - 2023-03-04

Kurdistan Parliament room

Some MPs believe that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Kurdistan Regional Government are to blame for humiliating the parliament and keeping it from carrying out its mandate by ignoring projects that benefit the people and enforcing the majority's will, caused the chamber to become vacant.

PUK President: We need to understand why the Parliament is now empty

During his participation in the Second Annual Erbil Forum, Bafel Jalal Talabani, the President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said, "We have to ask: What is the issue with our parliament? Why do MPs resign from the Kurdistan Parliament? We think that even some other parties have issues with some KDP members in the government and parliament, so we can at least identify the issues and work to resolve them. The parliament should be the voice of everyone without discrimination."

The government has never listened to the parliament

At the start of this term of parliament, "we were dissatisfied because it had a poor performance. The majority party did whatever they wanted without paying attention to the interests of the people and the state, as they were the only ones deciding," said Ismail Ali, the former chairman of the parliamentary affairs committee, to PUKMEDIA.

"This term did not give sufficient consideration to projects related to public service. We have submitted a project signed by 82 members of parliament, but the government has refused to work on it," "he said.

The PUK has submitted 21 projects and received no responses

In this term of the parliament, the majority of initiatives given to the government were not responded to, which is an important reason why it is emptied.

Faisal Abbas, a member of the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "One of the parliament's weaknesses is that the government has not responded to any of the bills we've submitted." We, as the faction of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have introduced 21 bills aimed at serving the people."

"The KDP faction and the government's lack of response have been the primary obstacles to the parliament's inability to perform its duties; therefore, lawmakers prefer an empty parliament to the current humiliation, as the government prepares the projects that enter the parliament rather than the parliament itself."

The government desires a humiliated legislature

The failure of the parliament to handle issues related to people's lives is one of the primary causes of desertion. The factions are against the government's humiliation and deprivation of authority over the parliament.

Balambo Mohammed, a member of the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "The deserted parliament is due to the neglect of issues about the lives of the people."

"The parliament's majority and minorities have rendered us incapable of holding any minister accountable and conducting a thorough oversight of the government."

"In addition to the expiration of the parliament's term, the government's disregard for the laws passed by the parliament and the parliament's humiliation are additional reasons for deserting the parliament," he added. "Majority of factions do not share the government's desire for a powerless legislature."

The government's police-like behavior caused desertion of legislature 

The parties have left the parliament due to the government's treatment of the chamber; they believe that the constituent parts of power should do their jobs rather than the government making every decision and acting as a police-like authority.

Shadi Nawzad, a member of the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "The extension of the term of the parliament is part of the reason why the parliament is empty, but it is not the only reason as we have seen how ministers respond to questions from parliamentarians throughout this term, there are ministers who were summoned to parliament on multiple occasions but never showed up."

Nawzad added: "The government treats the legislature and other public authorities like police officers, and in some places, we seriously doubt that there is any remaining capacity for cooperation."

The Kurdistan Parliament is on the verge of dissolving, as its members have grown weary of how the government treats them in the name of being the majority. In addition to the expiration of the legislature's term, the neglect of citizen-beneficial projects is another reason legislators have left office.



PUKMEDIA