Deputy Speaker’s News

The Presidency of the Kurdistan Parliament announces the order of business for the sitting of Wednesday 25th September at 11am - the second sitting of the autumn session of the first year of the Kurdistan Parliament’s fifth term.

On the 49th anniversary of the founding of the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami and MPs congratulated the union. Mr. Hawrami asked the union to help protect Kurdistan’s peaceful coexistence between different religious and ethnic communities.

On 22 September Mr. Hama Haji Mahmoud, the Secretary of the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party together with several members congratulated Dr. Rewas Faiq and Mr. Hemin Hawrami on their election to the Presidency of the Kurdistan Parliament.

Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq on 19 September received the President of Iraq's Council of Representatives, Mr. Muhammad Halbousi, at Erbil International Airport. Speaker Faiq stressed the need for a strong relationship between the two parliaments, and asked Mr. Halbousi to play a positive role by supporting the rights of the Kurdistani people in the Iraq 2020 budget, and to foster mutual understanding between all Iraqis. 

Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq on 18 September welcomed the President of Iraq Dr. Barham Salih to the Kurdistan Parliament.  as part of his visit to the Kurdistan Region. Speaker Faiq asked President Salih to help the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Government in their current negotiations to reach a final agreement on outstanding issues. President Salih said, “It is the Constitution that brings us together to create mutual understanding between all Iraqis, and to reach agreement.  The only choice that we have is dialogue, agreement and mutal understanding.”

Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami on 18th September welcomed Mr. Ayman Gharaibeh, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Iraq. The Deputy Speaker asked the UNHCR to raise their voice against the recent Iraqi legislation that prevents IDPs from voting in the next Iraqi provincial elections. Mr. Gharaibeh said that Kurdistan Region’s support for IDPs and refugees has been outstanding.

The Presidency of the Kurdistan Parliament on 16 September issued the following statement on the 50th anniversary of the massacre in Surya village in the Bahdinan area of Kurdistan: Fifty years ago in 1969, Iraq’s Ba’ath regime massacred thousands of innocent Assyrian, Chaldean, Kurdish and Muslim men, women and children in the village of Surya. The first victim of the tragedy was the priest Hana Qasha, who was executed by the Iraqi officer Abdul Karim Al-Jihayshi.

Kurdistan Parliament MPs led by Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami on 16 September welcomed Members of the UK Parliament and representatives of Unite, the UK’s largest trade union. British MP Mr. Lloyd Russell-Moyle said, “We see Kurdistan as leading the way in the region.” He added, “We are here to show our support for your autonomy and purpose.” The delegation expressed their solidarity with the people of Kurdistan, as beacons of inclusiveness and diversity in the Middle East.

The Kurdistan Parliament on 17 September held the first sitting of the autumn session. At the sitting Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq asked committees to work on six bills, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami reported on Parliament’s visit to Baghdad and the mechanisms that Parliament has established to increase coordination between the Kurdistan Parliament and the Iraqi Council of Representatives (ICOR), in particular its Kurdistani blocks. MP Mr. Hevidar Ahmad (KDP) presented information and statistics regarding Kurdistan Region’s population numbers.

Parliament Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami and Secretary Muna Kahveci on 16 September met with five Turkmen political parties and asked them to support policies that are critical to Kurdistan’s national interests.