Report evaluats three decades of Kurdish Parliament on 31st anniversary

Shafaq News / The Education and Development Institute, in cooperation with the U.S. National Democratic Fund, reviewed on Friday the general report monitoring and following up on the work of the Kurdistan Parliament on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the establishment of the first Kurdish Parliament.

Soror Abdel Rahman, the head of the Institute, stated during a press conference in Sulaymaniyah, "The report provides a precise overview of the work of the Kurdistan Parliament during the past five sessions and how the democratic entitlement was conducted since the establishment of the first parliament in 1992."

Abdul Rahman added, "The participation rates in the Kurdistan Parliament elections have declined from one session to another, except for the third session, and we will touch upon the reasons for this later." He noted that the participation rate in the first session was 87%, the second session was 75%, the third session was 87%, the fourth session was 70%, and the fifth session had the lowest participation rate of 59%. This is despite an increase in the number of participants in each session, yet the participation rates have declined from one session to another.

The report also noted that the influence of political forces has declined from one session to another due to the general situation in the Kurdistan Parliament. In relation to the quota share in this parliament, the head of the institute explained, "Despite their increasing numbers, the participation rates have fluctuated during the past five sessions. The first representation of the quota was with five seats during the first session of the regional parliament until the number increased to reach 11 seats."

Regarding the voter register, the Institute's Director clarified in the report that "the problem with the voter register has been ongoing since the first session up until now."

Today, Friday, May 19, 2023, marks the 31st annual anniversary of the first parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan region, after the Kurdistan Front, with support from the masses of the Kurdish people, managed to liberate most of the lands of Iraqi Kurdistan from the rule of the Baathist dictatorship.

Members of the Kurdistan-Iraq National Council for its first electoral term were elected on May 19, 1992, and the first session of the Kurdistan-Iraq National Council was held on June 4, 1992. Fuad Masum headed the first government of the Kurdistan region, which began its duties on July 5, 1992.