Kurdistan Minister of Planning: The census that will decide the region’s share of the budget should not be politicized

The Minister of Planning in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Dara Rashid, stressed on Thursday the necessity of not politicizing the population census scheduled to be conducted in all of Iraq on November 20 and 21, considering that this census will decide the region's share of the budget.

Rashid said in a press conference held today in Erbil, attended by Shafaq News Agency correspondent, that "the population census should not be politicized, and the rights of all other components in Iraq should be preserved," adding, "The decision of the Federal Council of Ministers regarding the census was not in accordance with what we demanded."

He added, "In the shortest time and with the least budget, we completed the necessary preparations to conduct the census," describing the Kurdistan Region's concerns about the census as "constitutional and legal."

Rashid also pointed out that the 1957 census will be the basis for the 2024 census, noting that the 1957 census will preserve the rights of all components.

The Minister called on the people of the region to cooperate in conducting the census, stressing that after the 21st of this month, no one can be registered in the census.

Rashid urged the residents of the areas covered by Article 140 of the Constitution (disputed) to go there and be present during the population census, noting that the Kurdistan Regional Government is providing facilities for the return of the residents of those areas to them during the census.

He went on to say that the population census will determine the region's share of the budget, which was reduced from 17% to nearly 12%, and that the population of the region, which has increased like the rest of Iraq, will become clear, noting that the census will increase Kurdistan's representation in parliament and the rest of the federal institutions and ministries. LINK