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Abstract
The article examines two dimensions of political representation in Iraqi Kurdistan: representation as presence and substantive representation. It is argued that the high proportionality of the electoral system enables representation as presence, of women, minorities and diverse geographical, linguistic and socio-economic interests and groups. However, the electoral system challenges representation in both dimensions, insofar as it hampers the development of effective opposition. The opposition is vital to confront clientelism and corruption that undermine democracy in the region.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For indispensable information, I am grateful to Aram Jamal, the Kurdish Institute for Elections and Thomas v.d. Osten-Sacken, WADI: Association for Development Cooperation.
Notes
In this article the term Iraqi Kurdistan describes the territory currently under jurisdiction of the Kurdish Regional Government. Using the term this way means neither to affirm nor to deny the territorial claims of the KRG to other Kurdish regions of Iraq.
On representation as presence and substantive representation, see below.
The official name is the Kurdish Parliament—Iraq. It is commonly known as the Kurdish National Assembly, henceforth KNA.
For a concise history of the parties see Anderson and Stansfield (Citation2004: 161–9).
The number of officially counted refugees in Turkey, i.e., people that managed to cross the border and arrive in a refugee camp, is 450,000 (Malanczuk Citation1991: 121). Estimations of the number of people that fled reach 1.5 million.
KNA, Election Law, No. 1 for the year 1992, § 22, 36.1 (UNAMI unofficial translation); Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq (IHEC), Fact sheet: Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament Seat Allocation.
KNA, Election Law, No. 1 for the year 1992, § 36.2.
KNA, Election Law, No. 1 for the year 1992, § 22.1.
Data according to the Independent High Electoral Commission, Iraq.
According to the KNAs information, see also Muhammad Citation(2009).
KNA, No. 47, 21.11.2004, Third Amendment to KNA Law of 1992, Article 10.
Number of votes in Stansfield (Citation2003: Appendix 4).
See, for example, Salih Citation(2011).
The region was under a ,double embargo': sanctions were imposed on Iraq as a whole by the United Nations, and within Iraq, Baghdad imposed an internal embargo on the Kurdish region.
On the development of clientelism in the 1990s, see Leezenberg (Citation2000 and 2006). Today, the oil economy makes it very easy for elites to maintain their clients: see West Citation(2011).
Stansfield Citation(2006b) discusses the potential of new mobilisation on tribal and nationalist basis. In the 2009 electoral results this potential was not reflected.
KNA, The Committee for Revising the Draft Constitution, The Draft Constitution of the Kurdistan Region – Iraq, § 60, 61, 63, 73.
IHEC data.
See Aziz Citation(2009) and Ahmed Citation(2011).