SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) on Wednesday decided to withdraw from the Kurdistan Region parliament.
KIU’s decision came after its leadership council held an extraordinary meeting in Sulaimani.
A statement from KIU revealed that the meeting discussed the issue of the extension of the 5th parliamentary term.
The Kurdistan Region Parliament on Sunday has passed a bill by the majority, extending the 5th parliamentary term and postponing the general elections.
The statement from KIU called the extension “illegal”.
“KIU leadership said following November, 6 the legal parliamentary term will be over and its faction must be withdrawn from the chamber,” the statement said.
“Our supporters have voted for us only for four years, we are not supporting the extension of the term,” Chairman of KIU faction Sherko Jawdat in a press conference said.
“We previously attempted to prevent the extension of the term,” Jawdat added.
The extension of the 5th parliamentary term came as the Region was supposed to hold elections on October, 1 this year. But it has been postponed to December 2023.
In February, the President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani signed a decree setting the date for the region’s parliamentary election to October 1, 2022.
The Region’s parliament justified why they passed such a controversial bill, explaining that to prevent legal, and constitutional gaps and preserve national unity with further preparation for the next general elections.
The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections in September 2018.
Parliamentary elections are held every four years in the Kurdistan Region. A minimum quota of 30% of seats in the 111-seat house is reserved for women and 11 seats for parties representing minorities.
