MESOP FOCUS : Kurds Oppose Dividing Kirkuk into Four Electoral Districts – The idea is proposed by a Shi’ite MP from Maliki’s coalition

Leyla Hemid – 15 February 2017 – BasNews – ERBIL— Kurds are against a proposal for dividing Kirkuk province into four electoral districts, based on the religious and ethnic orientation of Kirkuk residences, Iraqi media reported.

According to the reports the idea has been proposed by Jasim Mohamed Jaafar, a lawmaker from the Shi’ite State of Law Coalition, led by the Iraqi VP Nouri al-Maliki.

The reports cited Jaafar saying the three components of Turkmen, Arabs and Christians in Kirkuk have agreed to the proposal while the Kurdish representatives oppose it.

The Shi’ite lawmaker claimed the proposal by adding a provision to the elections law aimed at setting a solution for polls in Kirkuk which has so far been allowed to run only one provincial election in 2003. Currently, Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen each have 32% of the seats in Kirkuk Provincial Council and the remaining 4% is for Christians in Kirkuk, where Kurds outnumber Arabs and Turkmen. www.mesop.de