A preliminary agreement paving the way for overcoming the "Kirkuk complex" in the local elections

A preliminary agreement paving the way for overcoming the "Kirkuk complex" in the local elections


 Baghdad / Mohammed Sabah

A meeting of the components of Kirkuk with the Speaker of the House of Representatives Salim al-Jubouri, held yesterday, a semi-final agreement to overcome the node delayed the completion of the provincial elections law.
The deal would end a deep-seated dispute between the multi-ethnic province's components that has prevented local elections since 2005.


Under the agreement, the Kirkuk elections are to be held concurrently with other provinces after a series of amendments to Article 37 of the draft local election law.
The agreement included an audit of the electoral register by the Electoral Commission, which will use data from the ministries of interior, planning and trade, under the supervision of a parliamentary committee "without a president and take decisions by consensus".
"The meeting that brought together the deputies of Kirkuk with the Speaker of the House of Representatives came out with positive points, which led to the agreement of the parties to hold local elections for Kirkuk, as in the rest of the provinces," said MP Imad Juhna, the House's representative in a statement. He pointed out that the components of Kirkuk will continue its meetings on Monday morning, in preparation for including the agreement in the election law.
The differences of components of Kirkuk to block the adoption of the provincial elections law. The Kurdish component calls for holding provincial elections in conjunction with the rest of the provinces in accordance with the mechanism stipulated by the government law, while the Turkmen and Arabs demand a special law to organize elections in the province. Arab and Turkmen representatives question the authenticity of the electoral register and demand reconsideration.
"The agreement included the amendment of the paragraph on the Kirkuk elections by reassuring all components in terms of the register of voters and scrutiny and the sharing of power and the future of the province."
Article (37 / I) of the provincial elections law that "Kirkuk provincial council elections and districts after taking into account the following:
a / review and audit data and records all, concerning the population status of the province , including the voter register.
B / identify a mechanism for sharing The highest positions in the province with the exception of federal positions to ensure representation of all components of the province
c / The status of the province of Kirkuk remains as it is currently until the
decision of the House of Representatives to put the province in the future The Council of Representatives review the terms of the agreement by saying that "includes the establishment of a mechanism to audit the voters register by Electoral Commission to be used Statements by the ministries of interior, planning and trade. "He pointed out that" the Electoral Commission will establish the appropriate mechanism to determine the time period to complete the audit of the voter register in Kirkuk. "
"The agreement provides for the formation of a parliamentary committee representing one deputy for each component, whose task is to monitor and supervise the work of the Electoral Commission when checking the register of voters, and the Committee will be without a president and take decisions by voting."
MP Emad John said that "the agreement to distribute the authorities between the components on the basis of the election, where the governor will go to the component winner of the majority of seats, and will go as the head of the provincial council to the second component, and the position of the First Deputy Governor, and Vice President of the Council of the third component, To the fourth component. " He notes that "the quotas of the third and fourth winning component have not been definitively resolved, and it is up to the speaker of parliament who will submit a proposal."
The decision of the parliament that "the agreement granted the House of Representatives to determine the fate of the province of Kirkuk after adding a paragraph according to the Constitution." He pointed out that "the agreement requires the abolition of Article (23) of the law of provincial elections in force, after the elections in Kirkuk directly."
John stressed that "the agreement will be printed in the morning to expect all the blocks and components of Kirkuk."
Among the controversial articles facing the passage of the provincial elections law is Article 52 of Law No. 36, which provides for the sharing of power among Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds by 32% each, compared to 4% for the Christian component.
And monitored (range) clear optimism on the faces of the deputies of Kirkuk after they left the meeting held in the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Salim al-Jubouri. But the statements of Arab and Turkmen representatives played down this optimism.
"The negotiations between the components of Kirkuk were constructive and positive and aimed at solving all the problems," he said, adding that "the agreement will be decided at a meeting on Monday morning before the meeting."
"The components of the province of Kirkuk reached an initial agreement to deal with all the reservations facing the organization of the vote in the city," said the MP for the Arab component Khalid al-Mafraji, and expected to resolve all the differences in the morning meeting.
"Al-Mafraji said in an interview with Al- The agreement focused on finding controls that combine between those who want a special law for the elections, and between those who want to hold elections with the rest of the provinces. "He noted that" the differences revolve around some of the provisions contained in the provisions of the election law of Kirkuk. "
"The Arabs and Turkmans insist on holding the elections in Kirkuk by adding the word (after) the implementation of the terms of the agreement, while the Kurdish component wants to add a word to implement the agreement," he said. "The Arabs and Turkmen want to hold Kirkuk elections after the implementation of the agreement, while the Kurds want to hold elections in conjunction with the implementation of the terms of the agreement."
The representatives of the Kurdish component refused to provide clarifications about the proceedings of the meeting or agreement, but MP Shuan Dawoodi said only to "extent" that "the components of Kirkuk reached solutions on Article 37 of the election law," adding that "this requires amendments to the wording."

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