Chaldean, Assyrian, and Armenian representatives condemn latest Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruling

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Representatives of Chaldean, Assyrian, and Armenian civil society organizations issued a joint statement during a press conference on Saturday. The statement was directed at the international community, UN human rights organizations, the European Union in Iraq, the US Representative in Iraq, all Iraqi embassies and consulates in the Kurdistan Region, as well as the three Iraqi presidencies and Iraq's High Commission for Human Rights.

The statement said that the ruling of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court deprived the religious and ethnic communities of the Kurdistan Parliament of their rights, even though they have been granted this right by the Kurdistan Parliament since 1992.

The statement also added that the ruling of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court came as an unexpected and unjust blow to their communities, particularly concerning their participation in the Kurdistan parliamentary elections.

They condemned the decision as oppressive towards ethnic and religious communities, who have fought alongside the Kurdistan Liberation Movement in Iraq and actively participated in the political process of the new Iraq.

As per Article 36 of the Kurdistan Parliamentary Election Law, five seats were reserved for Chaldeans, and Assyrians, one for Armenians and five for Turkmens, but the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq annulled the 11 seats on Feb. 21.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on March 3, set June 10 for parliamentary elections.

Every four years, Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections are held to elect the 111 members. The election was first held in 1992 and the most recent election was held in 2018.

Dawid Salman, the Director of the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission, previously told Kurdistan24 that there are 3.6 million eligible voters in the Kurdistan Region.