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News / Kurdistan

The problem of border crossings

Draw Media Out of the 32 border gates in the Kurdistan Region, only six have been officially recognized by Baghdad. 13 companies operate at the border gates. Eight different forces guard the border points. The goods imported to the Kurdistan Region are not subjected to all the necessary inspections. • There are 32 border gates in the Kurdistan Region, 6 of which are officially recognized by the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad, and 20 of which are not recognized by the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad, (6) other gates are only recognized by the Kurdistan Region and not officially recognized by Iraq. • The volume of trade between the Kurdistan Region, Turkey and Iran was ($16 billion), of which 48% was through Turkey, 18% through Iran, and the rest with other countries. • KRG customs revenue in 2022; Monthly (140 billion) dinars. That was (1 trillion and 680 billion) dinars yearly, out of (4,800,000,000,000) dinars, which is the annual non-oil revenue of the Kurdistan Regional Government. • In the Iraqi budget law, the revenue of the border points of the Kurdistan Region is estimated at (1 trillion and 560 billion) per year, which means that the revenue of the border points accounts for about 35% of the non-oil revenue. • (13) companies in different fields participate in the management of the border points of the Kurdistan Region, all these contracts were without competition, 25% of the revenue of the border points of the Kurdistan Region goes to the expenses of the companies. • Eight different security and military forces are on duty to protect the customs gates of the Kurdistan Region. • 80% of the products and goods imported to the Kurdistan Region are not subjected to all the necessary inspections. Prepared by: Stop Organization/ Supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

Judicial Council unable meet to swear in the two members of the Electoral Commission

Draw Media The Kurdistan Judicial Council is scheduled to meet today and the swearing-in of the two new members of the Election Commission is on the agenda, but the quorum of the meeting has not yet been reached. Because it requires the presence of (3/4) of the members. That is, 6 out of the eight members of the Judicial Council, must be present. The Judicial Council currently consists of eight members, three of whom are from Sulaimani and five from Erbil and Duhok. After the session of the Kurdistan Parliament on May 22 and the chaos in the hall and the adjournment of the session by the Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, the Deputy Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament has sent a letter to the Judicial Council to re-activate the commission and appoint two members (Ali Bandi and Kamran Nashat Bakr). The swearing-in of the two members of the commission, is in today's agenda of the Judicial Council. However, according to (Draw) information the quorum of the meeting has not been reached yet, because the meeting requires the presence of (3/4) of the members. According to the second paragraph of Article (33) of Law No. (23) of 2007 of the Judicial Council of the Kurdistan Region, the meeting of the Judicial Council requires the presence of (3/4) members. Currently, the Judicial Council has (8) members, which means (6) members must be present for the meeting. According to (Draw) information, so far, the three members of the Sulaimani judicial council have not showed up for the meeting, so the meeting of the judicial council will not meet the quorum requirements. According to paragraph (a) of Article 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Judicial Council of the Kurdistan Region, "the meeting of the Judicial Council shall not be held until three-fourths of the members of the council are present. Therefore, the Judicial Council has not been able to organize its meeting and the two members of the commission to swear- in.

The changes in the share of the region are dishonesty against the region

While he was harvesting with farmers in Erbil, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq said that, “the changes in the Kurdistan Region's share of the federal budget are dishonesty, oppression and conspiracy against the Kurdistan Region, but we will confront this conspiracy in any way and will not allow it to succeed.” The prime minister also criticized the Kurdish parties who cooperated in issuing this decision, "What is unfortunate is that the local parties involved in this conspiracy," he said. “Even worse, they should consider the reduction of the powers of the Kurdistan Region as an achievement for themselves. But Barzani emphasizes that they assure people that this is a sterile attempt and will not succeed.

US court rules in favor of Masrour Barzani

Draw Media According to a court document sent to (Draw Media), the US court in Virginia ruled in favor of Masrour Barzani and rejected the complaint of Shinyar Anwar, a female civil activist. According to the court's decision, "because personal justification over defendant does not exist, plaintiff's complaint must be dismissed." However the plaintiff believes that the trial is not over yet and the rejection is only one thing: there is no evidence to prove that Masrour Barzani lives in Virginia. The judge described the issue as a political conflict between Masrour Barzani and Shnyar Hassan. "The game doesn't end here, they will continue," Hassan wrote on his Facebook page. On December 7, 2021, The American Prospect magazine published a report attaching several documents with Masrour Barzani's signature on the documents of ownership of a property worth (18) million dollars. Two days later, the KRG prime minister's office issued a statement calling the report groundless, saying the evidence was "false", and claiming that the journalist who prepared the report has a relationship with (Shnyar Anwar Hassan) the wife of a former Iraqi Kurdish parliamentarian.

Authority to spend the oil revenues of the Kurdistan region

Draw Media According to Article 14 of the budget law, approved by the Iraqi Finance Committee, the Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami authorizes the payment of oil money to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, under the supervision of the Iraqi Financial Supervision Bureau. Article 14, Paragraph one: The Ministry of Finance of the Iraqi Central Government will deposit the revenues from the oil production of the Kurdistan Region in a bank account with the Central Bank without any deductions for any purpose. The Ministry of Finance, under the supervision of the Financial Supervision Bureau, delegates spending authority to the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government or any person he authorizes. This account is audited by the Financial Supervision Bureau, an expert committee of the Central Government Financial Supervision Bureau and all other similar accounts will be closed.

Iraqi Parliament Prevents oil extraction in Kirkuk and Nineveh

Draw Media According to a report approved by the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi government are obligated to prevent the extraction of oil from Kirkuk and Nineveh. Accordingly, it includes the fields of Kormor and Khormala because they belong to Kirkuk and some of the fields in Nineveh, which are transported by tankers to the Kurdistan Region. Article (14) of the budget law, paragraph (10) approved by the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament says that, The Iraqi government is obligated to work with the Kurdistan Regional Government to prevent oil extraction from the Kirkuk and Mosul fields which is currently under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The Federal Court will issue a final verdict at the end of this month

Draw Media The Federal Court has set November 30 to announce the final verdict on the complaints against the extension of the fifth term of the Kurdistan Parliament. And the court approved the letter of the Iraqi Election Commission, a letter in which the Iraqi commission said it has the legal authority to conduct elections in the Kurdistan Region. The final ruling, which will be issued on November 30, will also determine the fate of the November 22 session of the Kurdistan Parliament, which has created trouble between the PUK and KDP. The court was scheduled to announce its final verdict on November 3, but on the day of the verdict, the PUK filed three complaints against the Election Commission and the Kurdistan Election Law. This led the court to reconsider the case and postpone the decision. The court decided to consult the Iraqi Election Commission to determine whether they can legally conduct the elections in the Kurdistan Region. On November 22, the Iraqi Election Commission sent a letter to the Federal Court stating that it has the legal authority to organize and supervise the elections in the Kurdistan Region. What is still unclear is whether the Federal Court in its decision to cancel the extension of the term of the Kurdistan Parliament indicates that the decision will be considered dissolved from the date of the decision or from the date of the extension of the term of the parliament. If the decision is such, the parliament will be considered dissolved from the date of the extension, then the session on November 22 will be considered dissolved, which means that the Kurdistan Election Commission has not been reactivated and the Iraqi Commission must conduct the election process in Kurdistan. If the Federal Court does not mention the time in its ruling, then the parliament will be considered dissolved from the date of the ruling, which means that the session on November 22 does not have any legal problem.

57 Days Since the KRG Oil Suspension

Draw Media # From (25/3/2023 – 20/5/2023) that is (57) days have passed since the KRG oil exports have been suspended. # The Kurdistan Region could export an average of 389,958 barrels of oil per day. # That is, within (57) days, the oil exports would reach (22 million 227 thousand 606) barrels of oil. # Brent crude was trading at $80.50 a barrel during that period. # If the region had sold its oil at a discount of $19.8 cents, as happened in the fourth quarter of 2022 then; # The average price of a barrel of oil sold in the region was (61 dollars and 42 cents). # The total value of oil exports was (1 billion 282 million 997 thousand 418) dollars # If (51%) of the revenue went to the expenditure of the oil process, it would be equivalent to (654 million 318 thousand 483) dollars. # Accordingly, the amount of (628 million 658 thousand 935) dollars would be returned to the general treasury of the Kurdistan Regional Government. Suspension of oil and financial losses Nine years after the Iraqi government filed a complaint against the Turkish government at the international arbitration court in Paris, that "Turkey violated the 1973 oil pipeline transit agreement by allowing crude oil from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to be exported through Turkey without Baghdad's consent." The International arbitration court in Paris issued a 277-page resolution on February 13, 2023 and on March 25, 2023 officially suspended oil exports from the Kurdistan Region. According to the decision of the International Arbitration court in Paris, the Kurdistan Regional Government is a constitutional and legal government within Iraq, but cannot export oil through pipelines, because the Kurdistan Region is not part of the IPT agreement which signed between Turkey and Iraq in 1973 on oil pipelines. Two months have passed since the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government reached an agreement, but the KRG has not yet been able to resume oil exports.

Will the elections be postponed again?

Draw Media After nearly 15 months of dispute over the elections, the PUK and KDP delegations will meet today in parliament. This is the first meeting between the two parties on the elections after the normalization of their relations. Religious and ethnic minorities quota seats have become the main problem facing the parties for the sixth session of the Kurdistan Parliament. Some are in favor of distributing the quota seats among the provinces. Others believe that the minorities’ representation in Parliament monopolized by the political parties. The six-month deadline for the Election Commission to prepare for the elections has expired today. Without an agreement on the quota seats, the election commission will not be reactivated. The PUK and KDP have been in constant dispute over how to hold the sixth round of parliamentary elections for nearly 15 months and have not yet reached a final agreement. The two parties recently agreed to re-activate the Kurdistan Election and Referendum Commission. The PUK and KDP have agreed to hold the next elections in a multi-constituency model system. In which Kurdistan should be divided into four constituencies (Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok and Halabja), but they still disagree on the 11 quota seats. PUK demands four seats for communities in Sulaimani (two Turkmen seats for Kafri and two Christian seats for Koya). The KDP denies this and demands that the communities decide on this issue themselves. The communities say the situation must remain the same and the quota seats should not be divided into constituencies. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) recently entered the talks between the PUK and the KDP to resolve this conflict, which is seen as the last obstacle to the elections. UNAMI proposed to give two seats to the communities in Sulaimani, neither the PUK nor the KDP accept the proposal. The PUK demands four seats, UNAMI has given it two seats. If the election date remains unchanged on November 18, the Election Commission will have less than six months to prepare for the elections. While preparing the voter registration for the election may take more time, which may cause problems for the election.

Salary expenditures have increased since the implementation of the reform law

Draw Media Since the implementation of the reform law in 2020, the monthly salary expenditure has increased from 895 billion dinars to 941 billion dinars, in other words, monthly salary expenditure has increased by 46 billion dinars. According to the official statement of the Ministry of Finance, the total monthly salary expenditure of the Kurdistan Region is (941) billion dinars in 2023. However According to another statement that was issued by the Ministry of Finance in August 2020, 895 billion dinars were needed to pay the salaries of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2020. The reform law was passed in the Kurdistan Parliament in January 2020 and then went into effect. According to the first, second and third reports of the reform, a large number of two and three salaries have been cut and the salaries of parliamentarians, ministers and special ranks have been reduced. According to the third report of the reform, the amount of (1 billion and 253 million) dinars has been returned to the government treasury. Based on all the steps taken, salary expenditures should have decreased, but on the contrary they have increased, despite the lack of employment.

KRG oil exports will be delayed again

Draw Media Turkey's Botas, which exports oil from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has not yet responded to the Iraqi government's request to resume oil exports, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) acting Minister of Natural Resources said, "I don't think exports will resume tomorrow. Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said that oil exports from the north are expected to resume tomorrow. According to the Iraqi Oil Minister, the total daily oil exports from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk will reach 500,000 barrels per day. "We have not received any response from Turkey's Botas to our request to resume oil exports," he said. "I don't think the oil exports will resume tomorrow," said Kamal Mohammed, KRG acting minister of natural resources. Turkey suspended oil exports from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) on March 25 after the International Court of Arbitration in Paris ruled on the Iraqi government's complaint against Turkey over the use of the Iraqi pipeline to export oil from the Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi Federal Government recently reached an agreement to resume oil exports, according to which, the KRG agreed to sell oil throug the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO), However, oil exports have not yet resumed. Coincided with the visit of Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani, the iraqi Prime Minister to Kurdistan Region, yesterday Iraqi Oil Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs said SOMO has notified Turkey's Botas to resume oil exports from the north from Saturday. According to reports, Turkish officials want to get guarantees that Iraq will forgive the (1 billion 500 million) dollars that the International Court of Arbitration in Paris imposed on Turkey as compensation. The oil exports account for 77% of the Kurdistan Region's total revenue, therefore the KRG is now unable to fully cover the salaries of its employees, However, the Iraqi government has promised to send 400 billion dinars monthly to the Kurdistan Region until the 2023 budget is approved. The government of Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani has come to power with a promise to resolve the oil and budget issues between Erbil and Baghdad for the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Sudani promised to submit the federal oil and gas law to parliament within six months of taking office, but the six-month deadline has passed and there is still no news about the law.

Iraq instructs Turkey to restart northern exports

Formal orders from SOMO highlight progress in Baghdad-Erbil negotiations to implement a new framework for Kurdistan’s oil and revenue. All eyes are now on Turkey. IRAQ OIL REPORT Iraq has formally instructed Turkey to restart northern oil exports, signaling a breakthrough that could bring 475,000 barrels per day (bpd) of supply back onto global markets. The federal government's oil marketing company, SOMO, "submitted an official request to the Turkish side on May 10 for the resumption of oil exports via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline," according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraq’s Oil Ministry confirmed in a statement Thursday that SOMO had “informed” Turkey’s state pipeline operator, Botas, regarding “the resumption of export and loading operations as of Saturday, May 13.” The northern pipeline system has been offline since March 25, two days after the International Commercial Court (ICC) in Paris ruled that Turkey had been violating its treaty with Iraq governing the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) system by facilitating independent exports from Iraqi Kurdistan without Baghdad’s permission. It remains unclear whether Turkey will take action to restart exports quickly or attempt to use the pipeline outage as leverage to pressure Iraq into forgiving the $1.471 billion award handed down by the ICC and dropping a second phase of arbitration.

PUK financial conditions for negotiations with KDP

Draw Media (Revenue collection should be centralized - the region should have a single financial flow - Ministerial committee manage revenue and expenditure- The of 43% to 47% equation in expenditures and filling the salary deficit between Erbil and Sulaimani should be abolished) This is the essence of a financial paper prepared by the PUK team for negotiations with the KDP team and return to government meetings. First meeting after 6 months After more than six months of boycotting the meetings of the Council of Ministers, Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the PUK team in the government, met with Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of the KDP. The meeting comes days after US Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf visited the Kurdistan Region, where the issues between the PUK and PDK were discussed and Washington's message was conveyed to both sides. PUK financial paper for negotiations The meeting was a prelude to the start of negotiations to return the PUK team to the cabinet meetings, according to information obtained by Draw Media, the PUK has prepared a financial paper called "Principles of Financial Regulation of the Kurdistan Region." Draw Media has obtained the essence of the financial paper of the PUK for negotiations with the KDP and return to the meetings of the Council of Ministers. A paper and several topics The financial document prepared by the PUK for negotiations with the KDP consists of several topics: • Revenues • Expenditures and (Spending authority) • Filling deficit • High Ministerial Committee to decide, follow up and receive various revenues and take necessary measures in case of non-implementation of the principles What is the PUK's project to collect revenues? According to the financial paper, the PUK has called for a ministerial committee to manage the revenues and expenditures in the Kurdistan Region. This indicates that the PUK is concerned about concentrating revenue management power in the hands of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. In this regard, the PUK demands in its letter: • Revenue collection should be based on “genuine partnership” and be “centralized” throughout the region. • Recording all revenues in the Ministry of Finance in a “central” manner. Suspension of the decision to allocate a portion of the internal revenue of the ministries for themselves. Collecting all revenues in a single public treasury. Close all bank accounts of ministries in private banks and transfer receipts of ministries from private banks to government bank accounts. The Kurdistan Region should have a single financial flow. • Directing and managing revenue and expenditure centrally under the supervision of a high ministerial committee according to the level of authority assigned to each of: - Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers - Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Finance and Economy - Minister of Planning - Head of the Office of the Council of Ministers

The resignation of Justice Group MPs was submitted to the speaker of parliament

Draw Media Abdulstar Majid, leader of the Justice Group faction, submitted his resignation to the speaker of parliament today. Last week May 1, Ali Bapir, the leader of the Kurdistan Justice Group, called on his party members to resign from parliament, provincial councils and the Sulaimani administration because these institutions have expired. The Kurdistan Justice Group has seven members in the Kurdistan Parliament, three members of the provincial council, a governor, four district directors, a general director and a deputy director general in the Sulaimani administration: * Seven members of the Kurdistan Parliament: -Abdulstar Majid - Hawramabad Gachenayi - Osman Kani Kurdayi - Omar Gulpi - Badriya Ismail - Rupak Ahmad - Muslim Abdullah • Three members of the provincial council - Chenar Jalal, Erbil Provincial Council - Media Ahmad, Sulaimani Provincial Council - Ramazan Namiq, Sulaimani Provincial Council • Sulaimani Administration Posts - Ismail Hama Rashid, Director General of Sulaimani Social Development Supervision - Abdullah Ahmad, Deputy Director General of Health in Sulaimani - Kamran Hassan, governor of Mawat district - Adnan Ali, director of Bawanur district - Hemn Bahjat, director of Aghjaler district - Abubakr Hussein, director of Isewi district - Hemn Hama Hussein, director of Sirwan district

Barzani gathers all political parties in Barzan

Draw Media Under the supervision of Mullah Mustafa (Babo), the monument of (Mullah Mustafa Barzani) will be opened in Barzan. Massoud Barzani will gather all political parties in Barzan for this ceremony. One of the participants may be Bafel Talabani. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani will gather all political parties and personalities in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with some international personalities in Barzan region on Thursday. The gathering is for the opening of the monument to Mullah Mustafa Barzani, which is dedicated to the stages of Mustafa Barzani's life in the Kurdistan Republic and the September Revolution. The monument is supervised by Mustafa Barzani, son of Massoud Barzani, known as Babo. Massoud Barzani, the KDP President, spoke to PUK leader Bafel Talabani on the phone yesterday, apparently to invite him to the ceremony in Barzan on Thursday. The phone call between Barzani and Bafel Talabani coincided with a new attempt to normalize relations between the PUK and PDK following the visit of the US Assistant Secretary of State to the Kurdistan Region.