The Kurdish parties have failed to regain the positions in Diyala province that they lost due the Kurdish independence referendum. Such positions are the commissioners of Mandali and Qaratapa sub-districts.
Due to holding Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum in the disputed areas, Iraqi Kurds lost significate administrative positions in the local administration of Diyala when authorities expressed their support for the referendum.
Currently, there is the possibility that the Jalawla commissioner, who is ethnically Arab and is a member of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK), might lose the commissionership, too.
Numerous gunmen of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and Badr organizations, ten days before the date of the referendum, raided the headquarter of Mandali sub-district and later closed the it, happened when Abdulhussein Qaralusi, the commissioner of Mandali, announced his support for the referendum.
Several gunmen of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and Badr organizations raided the building and closed its door
Qaralusi said, “we supported the referendum, and some parties protested against it. Later, several gunmen of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and Badr organizations raided the building and closed its door. They asked for my dismissal.”
Subsequently, the subdistrict council, headed by a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), convened and sacked Qaralusi.
Diyala, the central Khanaqin district. Photo: KirkukNow
Diyala governor, however, did not approve his dismissal, but rather issued his open leave of absence. The governor replaced him with an acting commissioner, who still occupies the position.
Federal jurisdiction was reestablished in the disputed areas on October 16, 2017, when the Kurdish force withdrew from the areas, in which Jalawla commissioner, a Kurds, also left office.
Mohammed Haji Omer, Head of the PUK committee in Qaratapa, stated, “Qaratapa commissioner was Kurds’ share, but we lost it due to holding the referendum and have not been able to regain it.”
Qaratapa commissionership was Kurds’ share, but we lost it due to holding the referendum
Despite losing the positions, the KDP and PUK also the “ownerships” of the headquarters.
Diyala local government has claimed several times that their headquarters were government properties. But, Popular Mobilization Forces, (PMF) have used them to station their forces.
Kurds, besides losing commissionership of Mandali, Qaratapa, Jalawla sub-districts, had also lost head of the councils of two districts and three sub-districts including Khanaqin, Qaratapa, Jalawla, Mandali, and Jabara.
