KDP Threatens Boycott Of Kurdish Parliamentary Elections

On March 18 the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced that it would boycott this year’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) parliamentary elections.

 

Specifically it objected to a February ruling by the Federal Supreme Court that reduced the number of parliamentary seats from 111 to 100 by doing away with minority quotas and divided Kurdistan into 4 voting districts instead of the traditional one. The KDP called the decision unconstitutional.

 

The KDP has two much bigger issues at play. First, it’s afraid that Baghdad is attempting to centralize power and undermine the federalism that the KRG is built upon. The Supreme Court’s action is just the latest example. Some of the ruling Shiite parties are opposed to the autonomy that Kurdistan has over issues such as its oil policy and have attempted to clip its wings for years now. Second, the KDP wants to be the dominant Kurdish party. It does not want a 50-50 partnership with its longtime partner the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) anymore and would like to have all the top positions in the regional government and in Baghdad. It has largely been successful. That has led the PUK to file lawsuits one of which led to the February ruling by the Supreme Court. The Patriotic Union for instance hopes that dividing Kurdistan into four voting districts will help preserve its position in its homebase of Sulaymaniya.

 

In the end it’s doubtful that the KDP will follow through with its boycott. That would open the door to its rival the PUK gaining more seats in the KRG parliament. The party will likely continue its complaints however as it’s fighting on two fronts. One is to dominate Kurdistan and the other is to ensure the region has its own power with the federal government.

 

SOURCES

 

Al Hurra, “Abolishing the quota for minorities in the Kurdistan parliament … a threat to democracy or an end to fake representation?” 2/27/24

 

Al Mada, “The Kurdistan Democratic Party boycott of the elections pave the way for the return of the tripartite alliance,” 3/20/24

 

Mahmoud, Sinan, “Iraq’s Kurdistan Democratic Party to boycott regional elections,” The National, 3/18/24