In a meeting with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani, Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert reportedly acknowledged that the KDP has been ready to hold elections on time for the past two years.
President @masoud_barzani receives UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq
— KDP ForeignRelations (@kdpfro) April 3, 2024
President Masoud Barzani received today in Salahaddin Ms @JeanineHennis , UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq.
During the meeting views were exchanged on the political… pic.twitter.com/SHQJ7y8eRZ
The official account of the KDP Foreign Relations Office said that during the meeting UNAMI Head Hennis-Plasschaert said she understood the concerns of the KDP, “but stressed the need for the KDP to participate in the elections and said that holding the elections without the KDP would be a difficult process.”
They discussed the political situation in Iraq and the Region, including the forthcoming elections for the KR Parliament.
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) April 3, 2024
Photo courtesy of KDP.
The official account of UNAMI on X said that both parties “discussed the political situation in Iraq and the Region, including the forthcoming elections for the KR Parliament.”
In a statement released on March 18, the Political Bureau of the KDP announced that the KDP would boycott the Kurdistan parliamentary elections scheduled for June 10, 2024. The KDP decision came after rulings by the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq that undermine the institutions of the Kurdistan Region.
For instance, on February 21, the Court eliminated quota seats for religious groups in the Kurdistan Region Parliament.
KDP President Barzani said that the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq has replaced the “legislature and its decisions are political and not in a way that respects the status of the Kurdistan Region.”
KDP President Barzani also emphasized that depriving religious communities of their representation will cause great damage to the coexistence that the people of Kurdistan have struggled for decades to maintain.
“The rights of these religious communities must be respected because they are different nations and must feel represented in Kurdistan,” he said. “A parliament without other nations will be imbalanced and incomplete.”
Moreover, KDP President Barzani stressed the need to hold elections that reflect the will of the people, are fair and transparent, and free from external interference and predetermined results.
He also complained that Baghdad has “unconstitutionally interfered in the lives of the people of Kurdistan and used their salaries as a weapon to destabilize the Kurdistan Region and subjugate them.”
Budget reductions imposed by Baghdad have posed challenges for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in meeting payroll for government workers.
The situation worsened after a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court halted independent Kurdish oil exports in March 2023. Prior to this ruling, the KRG relied on oil sales to sustain government expenditures.
As a result, many citizens in the Kurdistan Region experience financial hardships, struggling to meet their daily needs.
UNAMI Head Hennis-Plasschaert told KDP President Barzani that she had mentioned the salary issue in her report to the UN Security Council, stressing that there should be no difference between government employees in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq.
Moreover, she suggested that a UN team could assist in resolving the technical problems that the KDP has pointed out.
Erbil, 03 April 2024 – The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Ms. @JeanineHennis -Plasschaert, met today with the Kurdistan Region President, Mr. Nechirvan Barzani. pic.twitter.com/kr5Dcy2LK8
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) April 3, 2024
UNAMI Head Hennis-Plasschaert met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on April 3 to discuss “the perspectives of various political parties and the collective efforts being made to overcome any obstacles that may hinder the electoral process.”
In my exchange with SRSG @JeanineHennis, I made clear that we:
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) April 2, 2024
• Fully support free, fair and credible elections removed from constitutional violations and interference
• Need respect for the KRI as a federal entity and for the ethnic, religious and national groups in it pic.twitter.com/OkcSbGRGs3
On April 2, UNAMI Head Hennis-Plasschaert also held a meeting with KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in which Prime Minister Barzani underlined that the KRG fully supports free, fair, and credible elections unhindered by constitutional violations and interference.
He also added that there is a need to respect the Kurdistan Region “as a federal entity, as well as the ethnic, religious, and national groups in it.”
