Kurds considering boycotting Iraqi elections, KDP’s Massoud Barzani says
KDP party leader Massoud Barzani, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, 2019. Photo: Rudaw TV
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani floated the prospect of boycotting federal elections during in an interview with Independent Arabia published on Friday, adding that the approach of the Kurdistan region’s parties would depend on how Prime Minister-designate Muhammed Tawfiq Allawi handles relations with Erbil.
Barzani’s primary reason for a possible boycott appeared to be the switch from an electoral law that uses a list-based proportional system to a district-based one. The new law passed by Iraqi parliament on December 24, but specific details of how it will be implemented are still being hammered out by legislative aides.
When asked if he supported Allawi, Barzani was circumspect, saying that negotiations were ongoing regarding government formation.
“He is a respectable man and from a decent and well-known family in Baghdad,” Barzani said.“It all depends on his actions and standpoints.”
“No one can succeed in the presence of armed and outlawed groups that are not disciplined and they do not abide by the orders of the state,” Barzani said, in reference to the Hashd al-Shaabi which he criticized throughout the interview with the Saudi outlet.
Kurdistan Region’s parties at loggerheads with Allawi over appointment of ministers
Members of the Kurdistan Region’s negotiating delegations have said that they are opposed to Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi’s approach to forming a new government, in particular how he was handling the appointment of Kurdish ministers.
Allawi has said that he is determined to appoint ministers that are not affiliated with the parties and bypass “muhassasa,” the Arabic term for the infamous quota system that protesters argue contributes to corrupt governance in Iraq.
The Region’s parties have insisted that appointments must have their approval, arguing that is their right based on the constitutional status of the Kurdistan Region.
In a tweet just past midnight on Friday, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Arafat Karam said that “the delegation of the Kurdistan Region rejects the way Mr. Allawi deals with the Kurdistan Region and we cannot allow anyone to decide on our behalf.”
“We represent our people and that is why we have not reached a result. We will continue our discussions, so that we may reach an arrangement,” he continued.
“We will not accept Allawi if he insists on dealing with us through personal mechanisms,” he added in a second tweet.
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) General Leadership Council member Ala Talabani said in a statement that the Kurdistan Region’s delegations continued to be at odds with Allawi.
“We reject the way he deals with the Kurdistan Region as an existing constitutional entity,” she said.
Allawi has called an extraordinary session of the Council of Representatives on Monday to present his slate of ministerial nominees, which require a majority vote in the legislature to be approved to their positions.
It is not clear whether the disagreement between the Region’s parties and Allawi can be resolved ahead of the meeting.
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