MPs amend Kurdistan Region Governorates Law

Kurdistan Parliament MPs today 8th July voted in favour of amending the Kurdistan Region Governorates Law. With the amendments, the current provincial councils' members will stay in their positions until the next provincial council elections. Elections were supposed to be held by September 2018 at the latest, but have been delayed. MPs also voted in favour of allowing non-members to selected as heads of provincial councils. They believe this may lead to improved leadership of the councils and better services.

After voting on each proposed amendment, MPs voted on the totality of the amended law. Eighty voted in favour, and 20 voted against (Parliament has 111 MPs).

MPs voted on each amendment that had been prepared by the Parliament committees, as well as amendments proposed by at least three MPs. A minority of MPs wanted to put a time limit of one year on the extension of current provincial council members’ mandate, and a minority wanted council heads to continue to be selected only from among the council members, but a majority of MPs voted against these proposals.  

The Kurdistan Region Governorates Law, Law No. 3 of 2009, was amended as follows:

- The head of a provincial council does not have to be member of the council, and the head must be chosen within 30 days of the provincial council’s first meeting.

- The current provincial councils' members will stay in their positions until the next provincial council elections.

- The Kurdistan Regional Government and other institutions must implement these amendments.

- No law or decision that conflicts with this law can be implemented.

- This law will come into force on the day that it is enacted and will be published in Waqaa’ia Kurdistani (Kurdistani Chronicle) newspaper. 

MPs also voted on the reason for the passage of the amendments: To ensure that provincial council members have a legal mandate to continue their work until the next election, and to improve standards within provincial councils. Seventy nine voted in favour of the text of the reason, and 17 voted against.

Parliament’s Legislative Committee and the Committee on Peshmerga, Interior, Security and Local Councils prepared the amendments.