Saturday, July 8, 2023
His Excellency Abdul Latif Rashid
President
Republic of Iraq
His Excellency Abdul Latif Rashid,
We are writing to you regarding the recent changes to the Iraqi electoral laws that affect the
Assyrian voters, potentially disenfranchising them in this and future elections in Iraq. Assyrians,
who are indigenous people of Iraq and a remnant of the once great Assyrian empire encompass
varied ethnicities inclusive of Syriacs and Chaldeans, that reside in Iraq and the middle-east in
general. Currently, the Assyrians of Iraq are erroneously recognized as a religious minority by
the Iraqi constitution instead of a historical and indigenous component of the country.
While monitoring the Iraqi electoral process we have observed that prominent Iraqi political
entities in Baghdad and north Iraq have abused the five parliamentary quota seats allocated to
the Assyrians under the perilous Christian designation. This flawed system allows nonmembers
of the indigenous Assyrian people to vote for the representatives of Assyrians, disenfranchising
the Assyrian voters, delaying parliamentarian elections and disrespecting the electoral laws that
result in significant impairment of all Iraqi political processes.
We, respectfully, request that your office deliberate and enact the following changes to the Iraqi
electoral laws to address this flaw:
- Restrict and target the voting system by creating a special register for the Assyrian people.
- Implement one country-wide constituency for all the Assyrian people, including those in
the diaspora, for the five parliamentary quota seats allocated to them. - Establish special polling centers in the areas where our people reside.
- Prepare special paper ballot for the lists competing for the aforementioned allocated quota
seats. - Ensure that elections are on time and without delay throughout Iraq.
We look forward to observing fundamental changes in this regard under your prudent
leadership. In the meantime, we request a meeting with you to discuss this and other matters
pertaining to the Assyrians in person.
Respectfully
Carlo K. Ganjeh
Secretary General
Assyrian Universal Alliance