Kurdistan Islamic Union withdraws from KRG cabinet months ahead of elections
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the largest Islamic party in the Kurdistan Region, announced on Tuesday its withdrawal from the current Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet.
The announcement was made at a press conference late on Tuesday and delivered by the party leader, Salahaddin Bahaddin, following an hours-long meeting with the KIU’s leadership.
“By majority vote, we decided to withdraw from the government,” Bahaddin said. “We are not against the government, and we do not want for it to collapse as it would create a security gap.”
On Dec. 24, 2017, the KIU discussed removing itself from the KRG cabinet and stated they would remain in the current government under certain conditions. The party asked the KRG to immediately compensate public employees whose salaries have been delayed for quite some time, and “develop the livelihoods” of people in the Kurdistan Region.
The KIU gave the KRG a deadline – Jan. 15 – to meet their demands, warning they would withdraw should their conditions fail to be satisfied.
“The KIU will make a final decision should the government fail to implement our demands during the given period,” the party previously stated.
The Kurdistan Region has been suffering from an economic crisis since the start of 2014. The crisis worsened following the attack and takeover of Kirkuk Province, home to two major oilfields used by the KRG, and other disputed territories by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militias.
The KIU holds ten seats in the Kurdistan Parliament and occupied three ministerial posts in the KRG’s cabinet.
In December 2017, both Gorran (Change) which has 24 seats in parliament, and the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), with six seats, announced their withdrawal from the KRG.
The three parties opted to distance themselves from the KRG a few months ahead of the legislative elections scheduled to be held in the Kurdistan Region before the country-wide Iraqi May elections.
