PUK Seeks to Make Salaries Routine Constitutional Matters

PUKMEDIA

PUK logo and slogans for the elections.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) reaffirms the need to make salaries, financial entitlements, and employment routine constitutional matters to be jointly implemented by the Kurdistan Region and the federal government.

The PUK made this clear within the programme and strategy of List 222 for the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections, stating: The PUK considers the establishment of rational governance, both in the Kurdistan Region and throughout Iraq, to be of paramount importance. The party emphasises that the government must be service-oriented, citizen-centred, and committed to ensuring an equal standard of living for all people of Kurdistan and Iraq.

From the PUK’s perspective:

1. Transcending Regional Affiliation: The government must rise above regional loyalties, with the Kurdistan Region and federal authorities jointly responsible for the fair distribution of services and rights.

2. Salaries and Benefits as Constitutional Responsibilities: Salaries, benefits, and employment obligations must be treated as routine constitutional matters, with both regional and federal authorities jointly ensuring their implementation.

3. Addressing Social and Institutional Issues: Property management, the welfare of orphans, salary harmonisation, the rights of political prisoners, and healthcare services must all be addressed within constitutional limits, avoiding sectarian or political conflicts.

4. Dignity for Victims: A dignified life must be guaranteed for victims of chemical attacks, genocide, Yazidis, and martyrs.

5. Oil and Gas Management: The PUK aims to implement a new roadmap for managing Iraq’s oil and gas sector: a constitutionally grounded, transparently overseen law ensuring revenues benefit all citizens rather than serving as a monopoly. The plan also includes gradually diversifying sources of income, reducing dependence on oil, and enhancing agriculture and water management.

6. Utilising Natural Resources: Iraq, in general, and Kurdistan in particular, possess natural, touristic, and agricultural resources, as well as fertile land. These advantages provide the foundation for building a prosperous, thriving, and advanced nation.

The PUK is contesting the 2025 Iraqi parliamentary elections, scheduled for 11 November, across several governorates, presenting its candidates on an independent list numbered 222 in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah (including Halabja), Duhok, Kirkuk, and Diyala. In Nineveh Governorate, the PUK is running as part of the "Nineveh People’s Union Coalition" with number 281, while in Saladin it is fielding one candidate within the "National Masses Coalition" with number 240.

Overall, the PUK is entering the elections with 156 candidates: 36 in Sulaymaniyah, 30 in Erbil, 5 in Duhok, 24 in Kirkuk, 28 in Diyala, 31 in Nineveh within the Nineveh People’s Union Coalition, and one candidate each in Saladin and Baghdad.



PUKMEDIA