
ISHM: September 21 – 28, 2023
Key Takeaways: Court Ends The Term Of Kurdistan’s Provincial Councils; Bafel Talabani Reelected As PUK Leader; Ruling Coalition Affirms Respect For Kuwait’s Sovereignty – On September 24, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling that ended the term of the provincial councils in the Kurdistan region. The Court said it determined that a 2019 amendment to the provincial councils’ law that extended their term after its expiration in 2018 was unconstitutional. The chairman of Erbil’s provincial council said the councils were unsure how to proceed, adding that their “legal committee will convene later to decide on what to do” to address what he described as a “legal gap.” On September 27, party members attending the PUK’s fifth conference unanimously reelected Bafel Talabani as the PUK’s sole leader. The party will reduce the size of its Leadership Council from 121 to 51 members and establish a new Support Council, which will be under