Accuses court of 'overreach'
KDP MP criticizes federal court decisions as ‘politically motivated’
BAGHDAD – Sherwan Dobardani, a member of Parliament from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, criticized the Federal Court’s decisions as “political,” aimed at benefiting a specific political spectrum. He expressed surprise at the annulment of the 11 quota seats in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament, while it remains for the federal parliament, arguing that the federal court has effectively usurped the executive and legislative powers.
In an interview with journalist Ahmad Taib on Rasheed TV, Dobardani stated, “The Iraqi Constitution legitimizes the institutions in the Kurdistan Region, but the Federal Court has overstepped by annulling all constitutional provisions post-2005. The annulment of the quota and the issue of the four seats are matters for the Council of Representatives, not within the Federal Court’s jurisdiction.”
“If there are legal articles conflicting with the Constitution, the Court has the right to annul these articles and refer to the constitutional provisions. However, annulling the quota in Kurdistan while approving a quota in the Iraqi Council of Representatives is beyond the Court’s authority,” he added.
Dobardani also highlighted the Federal Court’s overreach into matters not within its jurisdiction, specifically criticizing its involvement in the distribution of electoral districts—a role he asserts belongs to the executive and legislature. He questioned why the Federal Court is making decisions on matters that should be determined by the legislative body, like the rewriting and amendment of passages of settled law.
Regarding the central government’s disbursement of the Region’s budget share, Dobardani mentioned, “If the central government had sent the budget but employees did not receive their salaries, and then the employees filed a complaint against the government, the Federal Court would have the right to make a decision. However, the government did not send the budget in the first place, and every month there’s a problem or a condition created to delay the salaries.”
“The complaint against the Kurdistan Regional Government was made by a single political party present in the Region. Why didn’t over 1.25 million employees, retirees, and Peshmerga soldiers complain? Only this party complained against the KRG, indicating the complaint is political, not because the KRG does not distribute salaries,” he explained.
“We, as the Kurdistan parliamentary blocs, gathered signatures to grant the Region’s employees their delayed rights from the three-year budget, but our fellow deputies did not vote to include the Region’s employees in their rights. Therefore, the fault lies not with the KRG but with the distribution of the materials sent. The victor in this legal battle is the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which benefits from undermining the Kurdistan Democratic Party,” Dobardani concluded.