Slow power-exchange delays formation of new KRG Cabinet

News and Comment by The Kurdistan Tribune:

Kosrat Rasul sworn in as vice-president

Kosrat Rasul was yesterday sworn in by parliament as the Kurdistan Region’s vice-president. The long drawn-out power-exchange between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has astonished observers. According to their strategic agreement, the process should have begun in October 2011. However, both parties agreed to delay it until the end of the year. Then came the first anniversary of the anti-government demonstrations of February 2011 – when an undeclared state of emergency was imposed by militarising the towns and cities – and the KDP found it inconvenient to assume power until they were sure there would be no big anti-government demonstrations. This systematic and deliberate delay has caused incalculable damage to the region’s economy and progress.

Some observers refute the possibility of any radical reform or end to endemic corruption within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) given the culpability of the new (KDP) prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani. He was previously at the heart of all this mismanagement and corruption and has now returned for a second term (‘Once corrupt always corrupt’). Others believe radical reform is inevitable if the KDP wants to hang on to power after the next general election.

In addition, the peculiar way in which the presidential office has exercised its power has taken most people by surprise. The president (KDP) was elected directly by the electorate while the candidate for the vice-presidency, Kosrat Rasul (PUK), was sworn in by parliament. The opposition boycotted this process as they believe it is just an extension of the PUK-KDP failed strategic agreement. It also needs to be stressed that this is against Presidential Law (1) 2005, which does not indicate that appointing the vice president can be legitimised by the parliament.

Next week is the deadline for the new cabinet to be voted for by parliament, says Goran Azad MP. New cabinet ministers’ curriculum vitae are to be presented to parliament 48 hours prior to being voted on by the members of parliament.