Kurdistan parliamentary quota seats
Iraqi minorities alliance denounces federal court verdict
SULAYMANIYAH – The Iraqi Minorities Alliance called the Federal Court’s decision to abolish the quota seats in the Kurdistan Parliament a “serious development” on Wednesday, highlighting that the Iraqi Constitution ensures every citizen’s right to participate in public life.
A delegation from the Iraqi Minorities Alliance, which is active across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, visited the Metro Center for the Defense of Journalists’ Rights in Sulaymaniyah. They issued a statement regarding the Federal Court’s recent decision that reduced the number of seats in the Kurdistan Regional Parliament from 111 to 100, thus eliminating 11 seats designated for minorities.
Samira Hanna, a member of the Alliance, told 964media, “We demand that we have ‘quota’ seats in the Kurdistan Parliament, just as in the Iraqi Parliament, as an important Christian component in the region, and we have the right to represent the voice of the voters inside the Kurdistan Parliament.”
“Whether the electoral system is a single district or multiple districts, it is our right to have seats in the Kurdistan Parliament,” Hanna added.
Israa Al-Faili, representing the Alliance at a press conference attended by 964media, stated, “Canceling the quota is a dangerous step on a path that was progressing in Iraq and the region towards providing mechanisms for the protection of minorities and enhancing their participation and effective representation in various authorities.”
“Since its establishment in 2010, the Iraqi Minorities Alliance has worked with local and international partners, exerting significant efforts to ensure this right not only for a specific number of components but also advocating for it to include all other non-included minorities. The Alliance has also worked towards developing and activating mechanisms and procedures for the implementation of this right, with minorities often being victims of the ongoing conflict between political blocs,” Al-Faili emphasized.