By Manal Abdel Fattah
Today, the political office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Cairo issued a sharp statement about the current political situation in Iraq, and the party’s position on participating in the Kurdistan Parliament elections, amid expectations of withdrawal from the political process in Baghdad.
The party’s statement said that since its founding, it has struggled for the legitimate rights of the people of Kurdistan and the consolidation of democracy, as two interrelated goals of the political system in Iraq, which prompted leader Barzani to demand in 1991 free elections and to practice them within their correct framework, and the call continued to secure the foundations and rules of free elections with a fair election law that ensures the representation of all people. The sects, segments, and components of Kurdistan in Parliament, and entrusting the supervision and management of the elections to an independent institution that has the confidence of voters and participating parties.
The party stated that for the sake of democracy, it participated in all discussions and meetings of the political parties in the region and Iraq for the sake of understanding, consensus and consensus on matters related to the election law, but after the Kurdistan Parliament election file was transferred to the Federal Supreme Court, whose decision included new violations against the region that have continued for 4 years, representing a violation It is scandalous and dangerous for the constitution, an abortion of the democratic system in the region, and an attempt to return Iraq to a central system of government.
The party responded to the Federal Court amending the important basic aspects of the Kurdistan Parliament election law in the articles related to determining the system of electoral districts, the quota of components, the number of seats, the party supervising the election, and the authority competent to decide on electoral appeals, and that it violated Articles (117 and 121) of the Constitution regarding the independence of the legislative institution in the region. And its blatant violation of Article (6) of the Constitution, which emphasizes the democratic transfer of power according to constitutional principles and methods, at a time when these amendments are considered a reason for distorting the democratic system.
The statement said that the Federal Court’s cancellation of the quota seats included in the Kurdistan Parliament election law violates one of the guarantees of holding free and fair elections, and violates the desire and will of the citizens of the region to deal with a sensitive matter such as coexistence and acceptance of others, which has become a distinctive feature of the state of stability and social peace in Kurdistan, and is inconsistent with Articles (49/First Paragraph) and (125) of the Constitution, the Law on Elections for the House of Representatives and Provincial Councils in Iraq, and Articles (2) and (25) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iraq signed in 1971 and is binding on it.
The statement concluded by stressing that the Federal Court excluded the judicial authority in the region from deciding on the electoral appeals mentioned in (paragraph four of Article VI/bis) of the Kurdistan Parliament Election Law, and assigned this authority to a judicial body affiliated with the federal (Supreme Judicial Council), which is a dangerous transgression. On the judicial authority in the region and is considered a violation of the independence of the regions.