A first since 2005: Iraq’s Parliament issues legislative agenda in Kurdish

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Parliament on Saturday released its session agenda in Kurdish for the first time since 2005, despite the language being the country’s second official tongue.

In a statement, the Parliament’s media office indicated the upcoming session, the seventh of the current term, will convene tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. local time. The agenda covers the swearing-in of replacement lawmakers and a vote to form permanent parliamentary committees, though it will not address the election of a president.

A parliamentary source previously informed Shafaq News that, from now on, session details will be routinely provided in Kurdish alongside Arabic.

The Kurdish component is one of Iraq’s three main groups, alongside the Shiite and Sunni communities. Under the country’s power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Kurd, along with several other key positions. They retain a strong presence in Parliament, recently winning 56 seats in the newly elected 329-member legislature.