'KDP prefers closed list system for next Kurdistan parliamentary elections': Politburo Secretary

"Their rights should be fulfilled even before our rights."

Dler S. Mohammed 2021/11/21 11:12

Fazil Mirani, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Politburo Secretary, Nov. 20, 2021. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Kurdistan Parliament Elections 2022 Kurdistan electoral voting system Fazil Mirani Kurdistan Region Constitution

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Fazil Mirani, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Politburo Secretary, said on Saturday that his party prefers to have a closed list system for the next parliamentary elections in the autonomous region.

"We prefer the closed list system for the next Kurdistan parliamentary elections," Mirani told a Kurdistan 24 correspondent. "It's more suitable for us."

"However, the semi-closed list would also work for us."

"I do support the rights of the components," Mirani said, referring to the quota seats that represent different components of the region in the Kurdistan Parliament.

"Their rights should be fulfilled even before our rights."

Mirani also said that the Kurdistan Region should have had a constitution "a long time ago."

I congratulate the Kurdistani peoples for today’s election results. You made your voice heard; you rewarded KDP as the party that leads by principles and patriotism. l thank KDP’s team and tireless campaign volunteers for giving everything for a better future- mb.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) October 21, 2018

"The constitution is now under discussion in the Kurdistan parliament, and once it is finalized, it will be sent to Kurdistan President for his approval," he said.

Under a closed-list electoral system, voters can only vote for political parties as a whole. They can't vote for an individual candidate on a political party's list of candidates on the ballot.

An open list electoral system, on the other hand, is one in which voters can vote for the political party and a preferred candidate from the list of political party's candidates.

In closed list systems, each political party can pre-determine which of their candidates will receive the parliamentary seats that the party wins. As a result, the candidates positioned highest on the parties list invariably get a seat in the parliament, while the candidates positioned very low on the closed list do not.