KDP Official Says Parliament Boycott Delays Constitutional Path to New Kurdistan Government
KDP official says lawmakers who continue to boycott parliament are violating their constitutional responsibility, stressing that restoring parliamentary activity is the essential first step toward forming the Kurdistan Region's next cabinet.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Kamal Kerkuki, Head of Public Relations for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), on Sunday sharply criticized members of the Kurdistan Parliament who have continued to boycott parliamentary sessions, calling on them to return without conditions so the constitutional process of forming the Kurdistan Region's new government can begin.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Kerkuki said some lawmakers had taken the legal oath of office but were failing to fulfill their parliamentary duties.
He argued that their continued absence contradicts the oath they swore, saying those who boycott parliamentary sessions "are accountable before God and the people of Kurdistan."
Kerkuki urged the boycotting lawmakers to break what he described as the restrictions imposed on them by their respective political parties and return to the parliamentary chamber.
He said members of parliament should attend sessions without attaching conditions regarding voting procedures and should instead exercise their responsibilities according to their own convictions and judgment.
Addressing the broader political process, Kerkuki stressed that the sequence of government formation cannot be reversed.
He said the immediate priority is to reactivate the Kurdistan Parliament before any further steps can be taken.
According to Kerkuki, democratic practice requires that the political party winning the largest number of parliamentary seats be given the first opportunity to form the government.
If that party is unable to establish a cabinet within one month, in accordance with the Kurdistan Region Presidency Law, the mandate would then pass to another political party.
The remarks come as efforts to establish the Kurdistan Region's new cabinet remain at an impasse.
Nearly two years have passed since the Kurdistan parliamentary elections, yet political parties—particularly the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan—have not reached an agreement on forming a new government.
As the election winner and the party holding the largest number of parliamentary seats, the KDP has consistently maintained that it has the constitutional right to lead the formation of the next cabinet.
Under the Kurdistan Region's applicable laws, following parliament's first session and the election of its leadership, the President of the Kurdistan Region assigns the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc to form the government within one month.
Kerkuki reiterated that reviving parliamentary work is the indispensable first step toward ending the political deadlock and allowing the constitutional government formation process to move forward.