2024-11-21T15:21:34+00:00
Shafaq News/ On Thursday, Fahmi Burhan, Head of the General Board for Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region, commended the successful completion of the general population census in Kirkuk, which kicked off on Wednesday.
“Anyone who has registered in this city is considered a resident of Kirkuk according to the law, the constitution, and all the foundations upon which the new Iraqi state was established,” Burhan stated.
He added, “We hope that soon, the committee formed between the Kurdistan and Iraqi Ministries of Planning, tasked with correcting data, will commence its work regarding those not registered in the 1957 census, in order to transfer their records to their legal locations according to the Iraqi Constitution.”
On Tuesday, Turkmen and Arab groups alleged violations in the census process in Kirkuk, claiming that many families from outside the province, particularly from Erbil and Al-Sulaymaniyah, arrived in Kirkuk just before the census began, which they viewed as an attempt to alter Kirkuk’s demographic reality.
In response, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has denounced the accusations as unfounded, stating that “those who returned to Kirkuk yesterday are its original Kurdish residents, and it is their natural right to participate in the census in their birthplace.”
Iraq’s population census, the first since 1997, is highly significant for Kirkuk, where ethnic groups—Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen—see it as a pivotal moment to solidify their political and demographic influence in the city.
Source: Shafaq News
