By Mohammed Rahman Ahmed
Currently, one of the unresolved issues and hot disputes between Erbil and Baghdad on one side, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party and other political parties of the Kurdistan Region on the other, is the issue of Kurdistan Region employees’ salaries.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party, as a party in power and defender of national issues and protector of the Kurdistan Region’s entity, has firmly emphasized “My Account” from the beginning, where Kurdistan Region employees receive their salaries through regional banks. At the same time, it completely rejects “Tawteen” (direct federal payment of regional employees salary ) proposed by Baghdad, which would have Kurdistan Region employees receive salaries directly from the federal government.
The question here is, why does the Kurdistan Democratic Party reject “Tawteen”?
And why do Baghdad and other Kurdish parties reject “My Account”?
What impact does Tawteen have on the Kurdistan Region’s political position in Iraq’s federal system?
Currently, there are 28 federal states worldwide, comprising about 40% of the world’s population.
Most of these are large and powerful states like America, Russia, Canada, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil, etc.
The spirit and essence of any federal system is decentralization and the autonomy of regions in political, administrative, and financial matters within the federal state framework.
This means regions have their own parliament and government and manage their affairs without federal government interference. This is specified in the constitution. Here’s the English translation:
Tawteen is against Iraq’s constitution and the federal system. According to the constitution, Kurdistan Region has its own government, so how can there be a government whose employees’ salaries are paid by another government!
If we study federal systems, we find that in no federal system does the federal government directly pay regional employees’ salaries.
Direct salary payment by the federal government to regional employees means the dissolution of regions and the federal system.
Now, when the Kurdistan Democratic Party opposes the “Tawteen” process, it’s because Tawteen – meaning direct salary payment from the Iraqi government to regional employees – is a conspiracy meaning the dissolution of the Kurdistan Regional Government and the end of the federal system.
Here, Baghdad’s aim is clear: through Tawteen, it wants to weaken the Kurdistan Region and gradually work towards dissolving the Kurdistan Region and ending the federal system, or at least maintain a federal system without substance.
Unfortunately, other political parties in the Kurdistan Region that advocate for Tawteen are populist parties exploiting people’s and employees’ problems for their benefit. These political parties either lack knowledge about the federal system or are ready to do anything against the Kurdistan Democratic Party, even if it risks the fate of the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdish nation in Iraq.
Here, the Kurdistan Regional Government needs to be brave and decide, informing everyone that Tawteen means weakening and dissolving the region’s political, financial, and administrative decentralization, against federal system principles and Iraq’s constitution. Therefore, Tawteen must be considered a red line. All parties and individuals promoting Tawteen should face legal consequences.
The issue of “My Account” and “Tawteen” isn’t just an economic and financial matter, but a national one, related to the fate of Kurdish position in the Iraqi state. Therefore, parties shouldn’t be allowed to freely promote Tawteen, mislead people, and incite them against the Kurdistan Regional Government. This is a matter of national security, and in no country does national security fall under freedom of expression.