The head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc in Kirkuk Provincial Council, Hassan Majeed, confirmed on Saturday the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution according to its legal paragraphs, which will contribute to solving many of the pending problems before conducting the population census in the province, noting that the bloc's attendance at the provincial council meetings is linked to a decision by the Federal Court.
Majeed told Shafaq News Agency, "Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution is an article that was included in the constitution to find solutions for the disputed areas according to stages, which are compensation, normalization, and census, as there are hundreds of deportees to this day who have not received their financial compensation, and this means that there are matters that have not been fully implemented in Kirkuk and the rest of the areas in which demographic changes took place by the Baath government."
He stressed that "Kirkuk has matters that must be taken into consideration by the federal government, as the Kurds were displaced from it by previous governments and more than 4,500 Kurdish villages were destroyed in Kirkuk, its outskirts and the rest of the regions. This means that there are residents who left Kirkuk, and they must be returned to Kirkuk to become part of it, as they are its original inhabitants, for the purpose of including them in the census."
He added, "The population census is important for any country, including Iraq, because it provides a comprehensive information base for youth, women and children according to their ages, and determines poverty rates and the regions' need for services and projects. Through it, we know the numbers of residents, buildings and other matters, and this matter is important for everyone."
Regarding attending Kirkuk Provincial Council sessions, Majeed said, “The issue of our attendance at Kirkuk Provincial Council sessions is linked to a decision by the Federal Court, which is the final arbiter of the decision. There is a team representing the participants in the Kirkuk administration who say that the formation and contracting of the local government was legal, and there is a team in contrast who say that it is illegal, and the court’s decision is what will decide this matter.”
He stressed that "the members of the Democratic Bloc in the provincial council are committed to attending their work in the council and participating in receiving its clients, but they do not participate in the council sessions until the issue is resolved by the Federal Court."
The head of the third branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Kirkuk, Mohammed Kamal, had demanded last Monday to postpone the population census in the province until Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution is implemented.
Kamal said in a press conference attended by Shafaq News Agency, "Preparations for conducting the population census are necessary, but the situation in Kirkuk is different and the governorate is not prepared to conduct it. There are displaced people from Kirkuk in the cities of the Kurdistan Region, and in 1988 the Baathist regime demolished 4,500 Kurdish villages and deported their residents to the governorates of the Kurdistan Region."
Iraq conducted its last population census in 1987, in which all governorates participated, followed by the 1997 census, which was conducted without the participation of the governorates of the Kurdistan Region.
Over the past years, the country has relied on approximate statistical figures issued by unofficial institutions and research centers concerned with this matter, before the Ministry of Planning issued estimates in 2022 that the population of Iraq had reached more than 42 million people.
The census has been delayed over fears of politicization, and has been opposed by ethnic groups in disputed areas such as the Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen-populated city of Kirkuk, which is home to major oil fields, because it could reveal demographics that could undermine their political ambitions. LINK
