Iraq's Federal Court Rejects 7 Lawsuits on Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections

PUKMEDIA

Iraqi Federal Court.

On Monday, July 22, 2024, Iraq's Supreme Court dismissed 7 lawsuits, one of which sought a ruling on the legitimacy of Article (2) of the Regulations for Registering and Approving Candidate Lists for the Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections No. (7 of 2024).

The Federal Supreme Court, as stated on its official website, dismissed seven lawsuits today that sought to challenge the constitutionality of Article (2) of the Regulations for Registering and Approving Candidate Lists for the Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections No. (7 of 2024) issued by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).

Lawsuits were initiated against the Chairman of the IHEC's Board of Commissioners. The plaintiffs have requested the re-allocation of quota seats of the minority communities (Turkmen, Christians, Armenians) and that the Kurdistan Region be treated as a single electoral district for them.

The Federal Court promptly dismissed the plaintiffs' cases in the first session, without any delay, based on the earlier ruling regarding the subject matter, as stated in the two rulings issued by this court under No. (126\Federal\2024) on May 21, 2024.

On May 21, 2024, the Federal Supreme Court rejected a legal case brought by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region against the allocation of seats in the Kurdistan Parliament. The court invalidated the state order that declared Article 2 of the Candidate Registration and Approval System unlawful, as a result of an order made by the Judicial Authority on the same matter.

The Federal Court ordered a decrease in the number of seats in the Kurdistan Parliament from 111 to 100, eliminating 11 quota seats. However, the Judicial Board of the Council of Commissioners later decided to allocate five seats as quota seats out of the total of 100 for the minority communities.



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