Shafaq News- Halabja

Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP) Secretary-General Mohammed Haji Mahmoud on Saturday urged the Kurdistan Region (KRI) to invest in agriculture to reduce reliance on federal funding.

Addressing the opening of the fourth Gulkhana Forum in Halabja, Mahmoud, popularly known as Kaka Hama, said agriculture could help strengthen the economy despite the Region’s lack of direct access to the sea, intermittent suspensions of oil exports, and limited heavy industry. He argued that the KRI faced a choice between greater economic self-reliance and continued dependence on Baghdad, particularly for public-sector salaries.

On constitutional reform, Mahmoud warned that amendments would undermine the Kurdistan Region’s rights and urged Kurdish political parties to unite against such changes and invoke the constitutional three-province veto.*

His remarks come during continuing fiscal disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. Under current revenue-sharing arrangements, the KRI transfers oil and non-oil revenues to the federal government in exchange for budget allocations, particularly for public-sector salaries. Kurdish officials are seeking guarantees that these payments will be protected in the 2027 federal budget.

* Article 142 of Iraq’s constitution allows proposed amendments to be rejected in a referendum if two-thirds of voters in at least three provinces oppose them. Kurdish parties have traditionally viewed this provision as a safeguard for the KRI’s federal powers and constitutional rights, particularly through Erbil, Al-Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok.

Read more: Erbil-Baghdad disputes: A cycle of missed opportunities