As the date approaches, will Article 140 hinder the population census?

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[size=52]As the date approaches, will Article 140 hinder the population census?[/size]

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2024-11-04
Erbil
Iraq has not witnessed a population census for about 3 decades, the last of which was in 1997, which did not include the Kurdistan Region at the time, due to its semi-independent authority from Iraq. Now, the country is preparing to conduct a general population census, including the Kurdistan Region, but Kurdish and Turkmen objections and calls for postponement have begun to appear, as the date approaches.[/size]
[size=45]Although the expected population census and its date, which is November 20, came after an agreement between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Kurdish side began demanding that Baghdad normalize and prepare the situation in the disputed areas and find a solution for their displaced residents before conducting the census or postponing it. The Ministry of Planning did not comment on this matter, but rather confirmed that the census will be conducted on time and will include the region and that it is coordinating with it.[/size]
[size=45]Mahmoud Othman, the Director General of the Population Census in the Kurdistan Region and a member of the Central Census Committee in Iraq, said in an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” that “after 2014, thousands of families came and settled in the city of Kirkuk and the rest of the disputed areas, and what are known as the areas of Article 140, and these families settled in those areas.”[/size]
[size=45]“These families will be added to the records of Kirkuk and the rest of the areas covered by Article 140, and this is a demographic change, because the population census will add them to the cities where they were located, while the 1957 records must be adopted,” Othman added, indicating that “the same thing applies to the governorates of the Kurdistan Region, as thousands of families from Baghdad and the governorates of central and southern Iraq have settled there, and these must be registered in their original governorates, according to the residence card, and they are not registered in the governorates of the region, and it is better for the residents to return to their areas on the day of the census, so that major problems do not occur.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “registering families in new areas will affect the percentage of each governorate in the budgets, and also the number of parliamentary seats. We in the region demand finding solutions, adopting the 1957 models in Kirkuk, and also registering families who have recently settled in their original areas. If our demands are not met, we demand postponing the census to another time.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The region recently began operating mobile teams, unlike the Iraqi governorates that began a month ago. Therefore, until now, we have not been able to count all the regions and families, and we need additional time, money, and technical teams."[/size]
[size=45]The population census is supposed to be conducted in all governorates on the 20th and 21st of this month, and a decision was issued to impose a curfew during these two days.[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the last population census in Iraq was in 1997, and showed that the population was 22 million people, and no census has been conducted since then until now.[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the population census was supposed to be conducted during previous years, especially in 2020, but it was postponed for several reasons, including political differences over the status of Kirkuk.[/size]
[size=45]Former Kurdistan Regional Parliament member for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Saeed Mustafa, said in an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” that “the region is in favor of conducting the census and we have agreed to it, and we have shown full cooperation with the Ministry of Planning, but the observations must be taken into account, including adopting the 1957 data in Kirkuk, because it is the biggest problem.”[/size]
[size=45]Mustafa adds, “The previous regime carried out major Arabization operations in Kirkuk, and consequently, major demographic changes were carried out on the city’s residents, from Kurds to Turkmen, who have major objections.”[/size]
[size=45]“Therefore, the 1957 census must be adopted to count and register families, and any family that does not have records in this census will not be counted in Kirkuk. Also, the problem of the displaced who have not returned to their original areas must be resolved, including the residents of Sinjar and the rest of the areas whose people have not returned to them. Therefore, the most important thing is to resolve all of these problems first, because conducting the census in its current form will affect the situation of the Kurds, components, and minorities.”[/size]
[size=45]Since 2005 until now, there has been talk about implementing Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which is concerned with redrawing the map of the Kurdistan Region and defining the areas affiliated with it that were Arabized during the previous regime, but the implementation of this article has been delayed due to its many negatives.[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the spokesman for the Ministry of Planning, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, confirmed, during an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed”, that “the census will be conducted on its scheduled date on the twentieth of this month.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi did not comment on what the Kurdish parties demanded, but rather indicated the opposite, saying: “We have high coordination with the region, and we have completed all technical preparations, and our teams are ready to accomplish this task, and there is cooperation with all ministries and institutions, and the region will participate in this census.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the head of the media office and member of the political bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Imad Ahmed, called in an article he published recently to postpone the general population and housing census, warning that the census at the present time is a disaster and a fatal point for Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution.[/size]
[size=45]Kirkuk is one of the most prominent areas of conflict between Baghdad and Erbil, and was under the control of Kurdish parties in 2014 after ISIS swept through several provinces, before the federal government regained control of it in 2017.[/size]
[size=45]A committee was formed to implement the provisions of Article 140, under the government of Ibrahim al-Jaafari, where the chairmanship of the committee was assigned to Hamid Majeed Musa. In the government of Nouri al-Maliki, another committee was formed, headed by former Minister of Justice Hashim al-Shibli, but he resigned from his position and was then replaced by Raed Fahmi. The chairmanship of the committee, which was reconstituted in August 2011, was assigned to the head of the Fatah Alliance and former Minister of Transport Hadi al-Amiri, and he still chairs it to this day.[/size]
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