Turkmen official calls for restoring number of seats for minorities in Kurdish Regional Govt's parliament to 11

By Bekir Aydogan

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) – The Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) minister of state for minority affairs called Tuesday for restoring the number seats allocated to ethnic groups in the KRG Parliament to 11.

Speaking after a meeting with representatives of Turkmen political parties in Erbil on the KRG’s parliamentary elections and electoral system, Aydin Marouf, who is also a member of the executive committee of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC), noted that the 11 seats allocated for minority components in the KRG Parliament were reduced to five in a decision last week.

The decision was received negatively in political segments, he said.

Describing the move as unfair, Marouf emphasized that the presence of Turkmens in the region is very important and that the number of Turkmens in Erbil is greater than the quota allocated here.

He said they are in favor of the participation of all political parties, including ethnic groups, in the KRG’s parliamentary elections.

“The most important thing for us is to increase the quota back to 11,” he emphasized.

“We are working on this. We have started meetings,” he said. “The quota of five is too little. It is wrong to distribute it on a geographical basis.”

“We are in favor of restoring the quota to 11 and having an election center,” he added.

On May 21, the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council decided to allocate a quota of five seats in the KRG Assembly for Turkmens, Christians and Armenians.

Out of the 100 seats in the KRG Parliament, two seats will be allocated for the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah and one seat for Dohuk.

Turkmens and Christians will be allocated one quota each in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, while Armenians will be allocated one quota in Dohuk.

On Feb. 21, the Iraqi Supreme Federal Court ruled that the KRG would be divided into four electoral districts and that the quota of 11 seats in the 111-seat KRG Assembly -- five for Turkmens, five for Christians and one for Armenians -- was “unconstitutional.”

*Writing by Merve Berker