Well, it was more like a parliamentary standing. Seats weren’t occupied for long.
Despite the KDP faction in the Kurdistan Parliament insisting that a vote occurred today to renew the mandate of the Kurdistan Region’s electoral commission, no supporting evidence has been found.
The claim has been circulated by KDP-affiliated media outlets such as Kurdistan 24 and Bas News (which have close ties to KRG PM Masrour Barzani).
However, other media outlets, including Rudaw (linked to President Nechirvan Barzani), all PUK-affiliated websites, and other Sulaimaniyah-based outlets, either deny that the vote took place or suggest that it wasn’t as clear-cut as the KDP describes it.
NRT Kurdish reporter Hersh Qadir attempted to find any evidence of a vote being held but came up short. KDP MPs declined to provide anything, merely reiterating that the vote has supposedly taken place. Yet, no documentation has been produced to back up this assertion.
Furthermore, the Parliament website’s live stream shows a chaotic scene with MPs clustered around the speaker’s position (who had earlier left after adjourning the session), and some MPs raising their hands. The audio has been intermittently muted.
The video displays Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami (KDP) holding documents (presumably the schedule of the day’s session, which lacked the Speaker’s signature and assent) and trying to initiate a vote. This was after Speaker Rewaz Faiq exercised her authority to end the session (and after Hawrami’s fists-on-desk insurrection against his boss).
The audio briefly resumes as some MPs raise their hands while others shout “adjourned, adjourned,” referencing the Speaker’s earlier decision to postpone the session.
Strategically, the live stream concludes shortly after. The ensuing brawl has been widely reported today.
Based on a review of the footage and discussions with other MPs, there is no evidence to suggest that a legitimate vote was held.
A chaotic show of hands by a hodgepodge group of friendly MPs surrounding the speaker’s position after the session was adjourned doesn’t count as a legitimate vote, regardless of how the KDP spins it.
