Politics

Kurdish official calls for census delay in Kurdistani areas outside the Region until Article 140 implementation

The official insisted that unless the 1957 census is used as a baseline for conducting the new census in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani areas, "the census will lack legitimacy, and Kurds should not participate in it."

Fahmi Burhan, head of the Board of the Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region. (Photo: Kurdistan24)
Fahmi Burhan, head of the Board of the Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region. (Photo: Kurdistan24)
Kurdistan Population Census Kurdistani Areas Outside KRG Control Article 140 Implementation of Article 140 Arabization Sinjar Yezidi Kurds Fahmi Burhan

Nov. 10, 2024

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Fahmi Burhan, head of the Board of the Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region, called for postponing the general population census in Kirkuk and other Kurdish areas outside the Kurdistan Region until Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution is implemented, during a press conference held on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.

"We are not against conducting a census, which we consider necessary, particularly in the four Kurdistan Region provinces," Burhan stated.

"However, since the issues of Kurdish areas remain unresolved, we prefer postponing the census until Article 140 is implemented or a better political situation is secured for these areas," he added.

Burhan emphasized that linking the general census to Article 140 is unacceptable, expressing concerns about the potential political manipulation of the process.

He confirmed that the Kurdistan Regional Government has been notified of these concerns.

According to Burhan, more than 200,000 Kurdish families have left Kirkuk due to Arabization policies. Additionally, since 2017, over 62,000 Yezidi Kurdish families have been displaced from Sinjar.

The official insisted that unless the 1957 census is used as a baseline for conducting the new census in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani areas, "the census will lack legitimacy, and Kurds should not participate in it."

He added that "our Turkmen brothers are even more concerned about this issue than we are."

Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution addresses the normalization of Kurdistani territories outside the KRG control, particularly Kirkuk, through a three-step process: normalization, census, and referendum.

The article's implementation deadline was originally set for Dec. 2007 but remains unfulfilled.

The Kurdistani territories, including Kirkuk, have been a source of tension between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government in Baghdad.

The 1957 census is considered by many Kurds as the last relatively fair population count before systematic demographic changes began in these areas.