UN official says political infighting in Iraq’s Kurdish region is ‘very disturbing’
The UN mission to Iraq has expressed concern over political infighting between the major rival parties in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan have been at loggerheads since late last year.
A main area of dispute is regional parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 18.
Tensions over key election-related laws led to a brawl in the Kurdistan Region Parliament on Monday between MPs from the two parties, raising fears of a further delay to the vote.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Secretary General’s special representative for Iraq, voiced concern at the situation.
“Ongoing political infighting in KRI [the Kurdistan Region of Iraq] is very disturbing,” said Ms Hennis-Plasschaert late on Wednesday.
“Once again, we call on all parties to work in the interest of all peoples and find common ground on outstanding electoral issues soonest.
“Timely, credible elections are a democratic essential.”
The last election for the region’s 111-seat parliament and president was held in 2018.
The subsequent election was to be held last year, but was postponed due to differences between the KDP and PUK.
The PUK wants to amend parliamentary electoral law to divide the region into four constituencies instead of one and review the voters’ roll – which it says contains false names.
The scuffle between KDP and PUK politicians in parliament on Monday occurred after the
KDP forced a vote on reactivating the electoral commission.
The PUK wanted to put the amended election law and the reactivation of the election commission in one package.
On Tuesday, the semi-autonomous Kurdish region’s official gazette published the decree.
The sides have since entered a legal battle as to whether the parliamentary session was legitimate – deepening disagreements and threatening to delay the poll.
Attention has now turned to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court to rule on whether last year’s decision by the Kurdistan Region Parliament to extend its term was constitutional.
The final ruling was scheduled for Wednesday, but has been postponed until May 30.
To prevent the region from entering a legal vacuum, legislators voted last October to extend the four-year parliamentary term by a year. The KDP holds 45 seats to the PUK’s 21.
Other disagreements are over power-sharing, the assassinations of PUK-linked officials and sharing oil and gas revenue.