Kurdistan caucuses agree on seats in permanent committees

Kurdistan’s parliamentary leaders on Sunday reached an agreement on the allotment of seats in the body’s permanent committees.

In a meeting overseen by the parliamentary leadership, the heads of all factions discussed the issue of allocating seats to each faction in the 11-member 15 permanent committees of the legislature. A lawmaker can be a member on up to three different committees.

The committees are those of legal affairs, financial affairs, Peshmerga affairs, agricultural affairs, education, health affairs, martyrs’ affairs, communication affairs, Kurdistan areas (disputed territories), energy and natural resources, municipality affairs, cultural affairs, integrity commission, religious and endowment affairs, and social affairs.

The influential Legal Affairs Committee has already been voted in, during the legislature’s first session since the election of its three leadership posts.

The leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) took four seats, with the second runner-up Change (Gorran) Movement, the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), and New Generation party taking one seat each.

This left two seats allocated to minority groups. Another two, reserved for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), were left vacant, as the party had boycotted the session amid disagreements with the KDP over a deal on the future government.

According to an official document Kurdistan 24 received following the meeting between the caucus leaders, the KDP, in coalition with the Kurdistan Socialist Party (KSP), will have 69 seats on the various committees.

The PUK will have 30 seats, while 18 are slated to go to Gorran. Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) will have 11 seats, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) eight seats, Turkmen Alliance six seats, Christian coalition nine seats, and Azadi two seats.

All factions have presented their candidates for the committees which will be voted on for approval in parliament’s upcoming session.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany