SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – As parliamentary elections approach, Iraq’s new electoral law is having an impact on how women are represented in politics.
According to the Iraqi constitution women are guaranteed at least 25 percent of the seats in parliament. Based on the law passed last year, a seat is reserved for a female candidate in each of the country’s newly divided 83 constituencies.
In Sulaimani city centre, the Gorran Movement has nominated one woman from its seven candidates.
Based on an agreement with Gorran, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has not nominated a woman in the constituency.
“It’s a dream of every woman in Kurdistan, Iraq and the world that someday women win votes without a quota,” said Rezan Ahmed Hardi, a Gorran Movement candidate in the Sulaimani city centre. “The quota law is very good, in my opinion. My goal will be to gain enough votes that even without a quota I would gain a seat in the Iraqi parliament.”
There are five constituencies in the Sulaimani province, making up 18 seats in parliament.
A total of 55 candidates are vying for 18 seats, 23 of whom are women.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has nominated 4 women among its 5 candidates in Sulaimani province.
“In case I do not get enough votes to gain the seat, I may win the quota from the 8 other women in my constituency to become a member of the Iraqi parliament,” said Shno Nuri, a KDP candidate in Sulaimani province.
Iraqis will go to the polls on October 10, a year ahead of schedule. The election was called to meet a demand of protesters who brought down the government of former Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. However, interest in the vote is low.
Several parties from across the spectrum have announced they will not participate. All sides are questioning the legitimacy of the vote in an environment where powerful militias operate outside of government control, activists and election candidates are threatened, and the electoral commission and political elites are accused of fraud.
There are 329 seats in Iraqi parliament.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
