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ORSAM
CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STRATEGIC STUDIES
Introduction
The administrative experience of Iraqi Kurdistan
started as a result of the fact that the
people in the region no longer wanted to live
under the rule of former Iraqi regime following
the popular uprising that took place on
March 1991. In the past, the people did not
ask for such a thing. Because the aforesaid
regimes had committed horrible murders
against these people by encroaching their
political, national and humanitarian rights in
an environment of deprivation and tyranny.
Such that, these murders had almost reached
genocide level in the Halabja and Anfal operation.
Therefore, the people in KRG surged
into neighboring countries on late March and
early April 1991, after the Iraqi troops returned
to Kurdish regions. As a result of this, the
international community intervened and decided
to form safe zones in northern Iraq for
Kurds. After the Iraqi regime took a decision
for all political, military and civilian state institutions
and organizations to withdraw from
Sulaymaniya, Erbil and Duhok on October
1991, “de facto” administrations emerged in
the areas where Kurds seized control. Those
steps encouraged Kurdish political parties to
fill the authority gap and establish a democratic
political regime based on the votes of
electors in the areas under their own control.
The first democratic election was held on
May 1992 to elect the leader of National Assembly
and Kurdish liberation movement for
the administration of the areas where Kurds
seize control. As a result of this election, the
government was established and civilian and
judicial institutions and organizations started
to be created in the region. However, the civil
war and conflicts between the two major
parties; Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) prevented
further development of this young democratic
experience. As a result, autonomous
Iraqi Kurdistan was divided into two parts,
each controlled by different political parties.
At this point, analyzing the problems before
the democratic process besides the political
system in Iraqi Kurdistan, and solution to be
offered to these problems becomes important.
The Reason of the Research
This research strives to shed light on the political
system that emerged as a result of the
transition that took place in early 1990s, set
of this system in the following process, and
the factors that ruined the democratic view
here. To that end, a series of questions will be
strived to be answered. Some of these questions
might be listed as follows: What is the
administrative structure of Iraqi Kurdistan? Is
this a parliamentary system, or a presidential
system? How does it affect the democratic
process in the region? What is the impact of
the relations among political parties, especially
the relations between KDP and PUK
which are two parties in power, on administrative
institutions and organizations in the
region? What are the most important reflections
and setbacks of the democratic system
in the region?
Hypothesis of the Research
Besides these main problems, some secondary
questions will be strived to be answered
through hypothesis: “The democratic process
under the influence of relations between the
two political parties in power within KRG
is faced with a series of problems, and these
problems lead to eviscerating the real content
that would provide the public interest”.
Research Method
Descriptive method will be used to prove the
main hypothesis of the research and to explain
the most important characteristics of the
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ORSAM
Report No: 151, April 2013