Iraq’s 2024 census won’t raise parliamentary seats, rights center head says
Shafaq News/ Iraq’s 2024 population census, which recorded 45 million people, will not lead to an increase in parliamentary seats, according to Fadhel Al-Gharawi, head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq.
In a statement, Al-Gharawi said, "Article 49 (First) of the constitution stipulates one parliament member for every 100,000 citizens. However, this constitutional standard has been suspended in recent years due to the absence of an updated population census. Instead, older estimates of 32.9 million people were used, fixing the number of parliament seats at 329."
He added that the newly announced population figure of 45 million cannot justify raising the number of parliamentarians from 329 to 453. "What was conducted was a population count, not a comprehensive census as required by the constitution," Al-Gharawi explained.
Al-Gharawi also highlighted gaps in the 2024 census, which omitted key demographic details such as ethnicity and religion, typically included in comprehensive surveys. He noted that Article 49 is subject to a constitutional amendment, emphasizing the potential financial burden of increasing parliamentary seats.
"Changing the number of seats in proportion to population growth would impose enormous costs on the state," he said.
"Many constitutionally stable countries maintain fixed parliamentary seats regardless of population increases. It would be unreasonable for Iraq to expand its parliament from 329 members to 453 based on the 2024 census, or to 800 seats if the population reaches 80 million by 2050. Such growth could destabilize the state."
Al-Gharawi urged the government and parliament to amend Article 49 by removing the "one deputy per 100,000 citizens" provision and capping the number of seats at 329, suggesting that this amendment be presented in a referendum alongside the next parliamentary elections to reduce the financial strain on the state budget and streamline voter participation in the amendment process.
