KRG: Kurdish lawmakers in Baghdad must defend Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers in its weekly session on Wednesday emphasized the importance of Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi parliament "defending the constitutional rights and entitlements of the people of the Kurdistan Region."

During the meeting, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani extended his sincere congratulations to the people of Kurdistan and all the winners of Iraq's national parliamentary elections on Sunday, thanking Peshmerga, police, and other security forces for maintaining a peaceful voting atmosphere.

According to a government statement, he stressed the need for Kurdish lawmakers in Baghdad "to work together, united and cooperating as one, to defend the constitutional rights and entitlements of the people of Kurdistan, away from internal conflicts."

The meeting continued as Barzani "praised the steadfastness of the citizens of the Kurdish people in disputed areas and congratulated the Kurdish candidates who won in those regions, pointing out that “the election results in the cut-off (disputed) regions reaffirmed their Kurdish identity, and stressed the need for Kurdistan Region representatives to work to implement Article 140 of the Constitution to normalize conditions in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad."

Article 140 was introduced into the Iraqi constitution to allow its 2005 ratification by kicking controversial decisions on the disputed territories down the road, but over a decade has passed since the 2007 deadline for the article's implementation.