Kurdistan
Chaos descends in Kurdistan Region parliament session on May 22, 2023. Photo: Kurdistan Region parliament
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A session of the Kurdish parliament descended into chaos on Monday after the lawmakers of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) disagreed over the reactivation of the electoral commission. The KDP claims a vote was held and the commission has been reactivated, while the PUK insists the session was postponed before a vote was conducted.
The Kurdistan Region parliament was set to discuss the reactivation of the Region’s electoral commission on Monday’s session. The item was added to the agenda upon the request of the KDP bloc in the Kurdish parliament.
The PUK protested the addition of the item, calling it “illegal” and saying it contradicts the understanding reached between the political powers that items relating to the reactivation of the electoral commission and amending the elections law should only be added to the agendas once the parties have reached an agreement on them.
The document published by the parliament announcing the addition of the item to Monday’s agenda was signed by Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami, who is a KDP politburo member, and Second Deputy Muna Kahveci, who is a Turkmen, but not by the speaker herself Rewaz Fayaq.
Fayaq, a PUK member, said during the session that she had not signed the document as she believed it violated the parliament’s bylaws, and was therefore postponing the session indefinitely. Her remarks were quickly cut off by Hawrami who asked those opposing to raise their hands, before tens of angry MPs approached the podium in protest.
The deputy speaker opposed the session being postponed and put the reactivation to a vote.
Monday's parliament session descends into chaos after the KDP and PUK disagree over the reactivation of the electoral commission
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📽️: Kurdistan parliament pic.twitter.com/N6CSlLO7tC
“The Kurdistan Region’s high electoral and referenda commission has been reactivated after scoring the majority vote of 58 MPs,” Zana Mala Khalid, head of the KDP bloc, told Rudaw.
Khalid called the vote “historic” during a presser, saying the speaker alone has no authority to postpone a session without referring back to the deputies.
Article 48 of the Kurdish parliament’s bylaws states if the discussion on an item is not concluded, the parliament’s presidency - the speaker and deputies - has the right to postpone the topic for a later session. However, Article 18 of the same bylaws states that the speaker of the parliament has the authority to schedule, end, or postpone a parliamentary session, with no mention of the presidency or deputies.
The PUK bloc has refused to acknowledge the vote saying neither the deputy speaker nor anyone else has the authority to resume a session if the speaker has decided to postpone it.
“Whenever we are close to reaching an understanding and step towards creating a hope of a national peace between the political powers, the KDP makes an action preventing us from achieving that,” head of the PUK bloc Ziad Jabar told reporters, with blood stains visible on his jacket due to the altercations inside the parliament hall.
Jabar thanked Fayaq for postponing the session, saying the session has been adjourned in accordance with the parliament’s bylaws.
“The parliamentary session ended. It is like being dead. The dead cannot be resurrected,” Parliamentary Speaker Fayaq told reporters as she was leaving the premises.
The Kurdish parliament’s bylaws requires new items be announced at least 24 hours before the session is set to take place.
The Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections are set to be held on November 18, over a year removed from its originally scheduled date.
Disagreements between the KDP, PUK, and other blocs in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament over the current elections law and electoral commission prevented the carrying out of the parliamentary elections last year, leading the legislative body to controversially extend its term for an extra year.
Updated at 12:28pm
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