아프리카ㆍ중동

Ethnic and religious minorities are given official quotas both in Iraqi and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) parliaments. While the given quotas are limited to certain numbers, some of the minorities do not have any quotas. Although the quota system in theory is meant to secure minority representation, in practice the minority quotas are considered as bonus seats used by the dominant parties both in Erbil and Baghdad parliaments. This brief discusses the shortcomings of the existing quota system and then showcases how it affects minorities negatively. Taking advantage of the loophole in the quota system, dominant parties can mobilize their masses to vote an affiliated minority candidate for political allegiance. However, the instrumentalization of the minority quotas only help the dominant parties reach higher seats in the parliament, while this process clearly undermines the minority representation, leading to further fragmentation within the minority communities and eroding the already weakened faith in the democratic elections.