Shafaq News/ A senior official from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Monday called for the postponement of a planned population census in the contested province of Kirkuk, arguing that the region is not prepared and constitutional issues must be resolved first.

Mohammed Kamal, head of the KDP’s third branch in Kirkuk, said during a press conference that the census should only take place after the implementation of Article 140 of Iraq’s constitution, which is designed to settle territorial disputes between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

“Kirkuk is not ready for the census,” Kamal said. “There are displaced people from Kirkuk still living in the Kurdistan Region. In 1988, the Ba’ath regime destroyed 4,500 Kurdish villages and relocated their inhabitants, many of whom have yet to return.”

He stressed that while preparations for a census are necessary nationwide, the timing in Kirkuk is "inappropriate" without first addressing the region’s unresolved political status.

“We urge the government to delay the census in Kirkuk until Article 140 is fully implemented,” Kamal said. He also called on displaced residents from Kirkuk to return and register their information in the province ahead of the census, should it proceed.

Article 140, a major point of contention in Iraq’s 2005 constitution, mandates a series of measures including a referendum to determine whether Kirkuk and other disputed areas will remain under federal control or join the KRG. Its implementation has been repeatedly delayed due to political disagreements and security concerns.