Everyone ostensibly supports the holding of elections in Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), however in practice there is no action, Aydın Maruf, the KRG’s minister of state for minority affairs said after elections in the region has been delayed several times.

"The elections have been delayed more than once due to disputes between political parties, especially between the KDP and PUK," Maruf told Daily Sabah in an exclusive interview, indicating that various disagreements exist.

The governing Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said in March it would boycott a parliamentary election in the KRG scheduled to be held this month in protest over a ruling issued by the federal supreme court. The northern region's dominant KDP said in a statement that Iraq’s federal court had violated the Constitution and undermined regional authorities following a ruling in February that amended the Kurdish region's election law.

Iraq's federal supreme court ruled to cancel 11 seats reserved for minority groups, including Turkmen, Assyrians and Armenians, reducing the number of regional parliament seats to 100.

"There is disagreement on the quota system for minorities. It has not been solved yet as we want. Previously, Turkmens would join the elections with five quotas, which has been reduced to three now – one for Irbil and two for Suleymaniyah. Turkmens may be small in number, but are an important community and factor in Irbil," the minister elaborated, saying that close to 400,000 Turkmens live in Irbil, which has an estimated population of around 1.5 million.

"This number is unfair and wrong. It does not represent the presence of Turkmens. The quota should be 10," he added.

Maruf explained that an objection has been made and a petition has been sent to the election commission in Baghdad which said that a quota of five is too small and should be increased to 11 while a single election center should be decided on. The letter said that Baghdad’s decision has negatively affected ethnic groups. It was also sent to the United Nations as well as the Iraqi prime ministry and presidency.

"It was only the KDP which supported the quota issue," the minister highlighted, saying that the other political parties asked for the system to be abolished completely.

"Turkmens play a vital role both in relations between Erbil and Baghdad as well as in relations between Iraq and Türkiye," Maruf underlined.

The February ruling of the court also changed the electoral system dividing Iraq's Kurdistan region into four constituencies instead of the single-constituency system adopted in the previous elections in 2018, prompting the KDP to reject it as unconstitutional.

The federal court ruling also gave authority to the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to organize and oversee regional elections instead of the Kurdish regional electoral commission.

The ruling by the federal court came after a lawsuit by KDP's historic rival and junior coalition partner in government, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

"The KDP and PUK have to come to terms. Yet currently, there is no contact between them. Besides the quota issue, there are also doubts about the registration of electors. Moreover, the issue of election centers is a problem – whether it should be four or one. The KDP says it is unjust. Lastly, it says that there is outside interference in the elections, originating from Baghdad. The central government is issuing decisions on salaries, the parliament, oil however it wants. This means it could also interfere with the election results if it is not satisfied with them," Maruf added.

He said that however, there is contact and effort to mend ties between Irbil and Baghdad on the other side despite the many problems.

"The Iraqi High Electoral Commission has decided for Sept. 5 for the parliamentary elections and proposed it to the regional commission. Currently, the regional electoral commission is meeting with political parties to agree upon an election date. This could be October," the minister emphasized.

Saying that elections have been delayed five times now, Maruf warned that a "further delaying of elections will negatively affect the region." The elections had initially been scheduled for October 2022.

"We support the holding of elections, but on the condition that all political parties and ethnic groups participate."