Kurdistan Parliament To Vote On Presidency

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The Kurdistan Parliament is set to meet at 11 a.m. on Wednesday to elect its presidency, and the head of its Diwan said all preparations are complete and the agenda is clear.

Ardalan Sarspi, the head of Diwan said the legal quorum is 51 members under the bylaws, and that if 51 attend the session is lawful.

The agenda is the election of the speaker, deputy speaker and secretary, which Kurdistan 24 has reported requires an absolute majority by secret ballot under Article 48 of the election law.

The first session of the sixth term, held on December 2, 2024, remains formally open, so Wednesday’s meeting would be a continuation of it. At that session 97 of the 100 members took the oath, but the presidency was never elected because the sides could not agree.

The sixth term has since faced one political and legal obstacle after another, including the formation of the new cabinet and the election of the presidency. The election was held on October 20, 2024, and the KDP won 39 seats, the PUK 23 and the New Generation Movement 15, followed by the Kurdistan Islamic Union with seven, Halwest with four and the Kurdistan Justice Group with three.

Five seats are reserved for minorities. The PUK says the KDP and PUK must first agree on the distribution of top posts, including the Region’s presidency, premiership and the parliamentary speakership. The KDP says parliament should not wait for those talks. Kurdistan 24 reported in September that the KDP and PUK had agreed to reactivate parliament in October, with the speakership going to the PUK, but that did not happen.