What is the connection to immigration? The Kurdistan Democratic Party reveals the reason for postponing the approval of its candidate among the Zaidi deputies.
What is the connection to immigration? The Kurdistan Democratic Party reveals the reason for postponing the approval of its candidate among the Zaidi deputies.
2026-10-18
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Sunday, Majid Shenkali, a leader in the Kurdistan Democratic Party, revealed the reason for postponing the vote on the party’s candidate for the position of Deputy Prime Minister.
Shankali told Shafaq News Agency that “a previous agreement was made with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to present an independent candidate for the Ministry of Migration and Displacement, who does not belong to the Babylon Movement or the Christian Suyana bloc, with the remaining positions for the Christian component being divided between the two blocs.”
Shankali, a former deputy, explained that “what happened was the submission of names all belonging to the Babylon Movement, whether the first name put forward, which is the Secretary-General of the Federal Court, or the other name that was put forward during the session, which is the wife of the head of the Office of Endowments for Christian, Yazidi and Sabean Religions, which prompted the Suyana bloc to object.”
He added, “We in the Kurdistan Democratic Party supported the objection of the Christian Suyana bloc, which led to the postponement of the vote on the Ministry of Immigration. Other parties also demanded the postponement of the vote on one of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s candidates in order to achieve balance, and for this reason, the vote on our candidate for the position of Deputy Prime Minister was postponed.”
Shankali stressed that “we support the rights of our Christian brothers in their electoral entitlements, given that the Soyana bloc won the most seats, with three seats, and the bloc brought five signatures from representatives of the quota and components, including the signature of the representative of the Yazidi component at the request of the Prime Minister, but the objections of the Babylon Movement, supported by parties in the coordination framework, prevented the candidate from being passed.”
He added that “the postponement of the vote on the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s candidate for the position of Deputy Prime Minister came in order not to obstruct the passage of the remaining ministerial portfolios and the other Vice Presidents, and the next few days will witness negotiations and dialogue to reach a balanced solution between the Christian blocs to come up with a consensus candidate for the Ministry of Immigration.”
Last Thursday, the House of Representatives voted on three deputy prime ministers, including Ali al-Zidi, and 11 ministries, some of which were vacant and some newly created, with the exception of the Ministry of Migration and Displacement.
Kaldo Ramzi, head of the Christian parliamentary bloc of Soyana, also demanded, in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, the right of his bloc to represent Christians within the current government, through their candidate, stressing that the candidate whose name was put forward for voting belongs to the Babylon bloc and is not independent.
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