Kurdistan Parliament commends Iraq supreme court ruling on violations in Iraq Provincial Election Law
Speaker Rewas Faiq on 13 November chaired a sitting of the Kurdistan Parliament at which four bills had their first readings, and MPs voted on the redistribution of committee memberships, following the creation of four new committees. Jiwan Rojbayani (KDP) discussed the successful court case overturning amendments to the Iraqi Provincial Elections Law and the danger of amendments to Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. Karwan Gazneyi (PUK) discussed smuggling of oil and oil products, and called for transparency in oil revenue and the Erbil-Baghdad disagreements on it.
Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami and Secretary Muna Kahveci also attended the seventh sitting of the autumn session of the first year of the fifth term of Parliament.
Speaker Faiq said that the Kurdistan Parliament on DAY won its case at the Iraqi Supreme Federal Court against the Iraqi Council of Representatives’ (ICOR) amendments to the Iraqi Provincial Elections Law. LINK The Iraqi Council of Representatives earlier this year amended the law so that IDPs would be prevented from voting outside their provinces, and obliging voters to register for voting cards, rather than using their national ID cards to vote. The Speaker said that thanks to Kurdistan Parliament’s successful court case, thousands of IDPs from Kirkuk, Khaneqin, Mosul would be able to vote.
Jiwan Younis Rojbayani (KDP), Chair of the Committee on Kurdistani Areas Outside the KRG Administrative Area, informed the MPs on the process of the legal challenge to Iraq Law No.14 of 2009, the first amendment of the Iraqi Provincial Elections Law. She said that Articles 3, 12, 17 and 18 of the Law violated voters’ rights as set out in the Iraqi Constitution, and would have prevented Kurdistani IDPs from the disputed areas from voting. Fortunately, she said, the articles were rejected by the Iraqi Supreme Court, and she thanked lawyer Mr. Sardar Harki for prosecuting the case for the Kurdistan Parliament.
Ms. Rojbayani spoke about the possibility of amendments to the Iraqi Constitution because of the current demonstrations and unrest in Iraq. She suggested that there should be international guarantees to protect the rights of all the ethnic and religious components of Iraq. She also said that there are signs of forced demographic change in the disputed areas, and urged the Kurdistan Parliament to press the ICOR to reinstate the Committee on Article 140.
MP Karwan Gaznaiy briefed the MPs on the smuggling of oil and oil products, and called for transparency on oil revenues and on the oil disagreements between Erbil and Baghdad, for the public as well as MPs. Mr Gazneyi commended the agreements between Erbil and Baghdad as they will help to strengthen Kurdistan Region’s infrastructure. He said more clarity on oil revenue and its expenditure is needed. Kurdistan can learn from developed nations such as Norway and Alaska, he said, and one of the key solution is the implementation of Law No.22 of 2007 which regulate the oil and gas revenue, “this would provide more transparency” he said.
The following four bills had their first readings, and Speaker Faiq directed them to the relevant committees for further analysis and drafting: Protection of domestic products in the Kurdistan Region – Iraq; Anti-smuggling of oil & oil products in the Kurdistan Region – Iraq; Agricultural insurance in the Kurdistan Region – Iraq; and Appointment of contract civil servants in the Kurdistan Region – Iraq,
Speaker Dr. Faiq said that Parliament received a positive response from the government regarding the Bill on appointment of contract civil servants in Kurdistan Region’s institutions, and suggested that Parliament give the government more opportunity to study and contribute to the details of the bill.
At the sitting, MPs voted on redistributing the members of some of the Parliament standing committees, as four new committees were created recently to bring the total number from 15 to 19. They also voted on the membership of the four new committees.
Parliament’s Presidency clarified the mechanisms for directing official letters to the KRG, the procedures for Kurdistan Parliament’s sittings and receiving the KRG’s comments and answers to MPs’ questions.
