New Generation Releases Quran Oath Videos of Three MPs Who Defied Parliament Boycott

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KurdFile Media | 4 November 2026 | London

The New Generation Movement has released previously recorded videos of three of its elected MPs who defied the movement’s decision to boycott Wednesday’s session of the Kurdistan Parliament. The recordings reveal an unusually explicit commitment by the lawmakers to obey the movement’s centralised leadership, refrain from publicly opposing its decisions and implement its political agenda rather than exercise independent judgment.

The three MPs — Daryush Ali Abdul-Salam, Khalid Muhammad and Shivan Saeed — were elected in the October 2024 parliamentary elections. In the recordings, made before their election, they swear on the Quran to abide by the movement’s policies and the decisions of its leader, Shaswar Abdulwahid.

Their participation in Wednesday’s parliamentary session came despite New Generation’s declared boycott, exposing a division between the movement’s leadership and some of its elected representatives.

Pledges of Absolute Loyalty

The recordings, according to translations provided to KurdFile Media, contain commitments that extend beyond conventional expectations of party discipline.

Rather than merely promising to support the movement’s political programme, the candidates explicitly accept centralised decision-making and undertake not to pursue their own political judgment when it conflicts with the leadership’s decisions.

In his recorded pledge, Daryush Ali Abdul-Salam declares:

“I declare that I agree with these provisions, this strategy and the movement’s centralised decision-making, so that we act as a unified and cohesive parliamentary faction and implement all policies set by the movement and its leader, rather than acting on our own personal judgment or pursuing a different course at any time.”

Abdul-Salam also states that he made the pledge voluntarily, with full awareness of its provisions, after reading and understanding the conditions attached to his candidacy.

Khalid Muhammad’s commitment goes further, explicitly ruling out public dissent even when he disagrees with a movement decision.

“I pledge that under no circumstances will I deviate from the movement’s decisions. Even if I disagree with a decision or hold different views, thoughts or opinions, I will not dissent or speak out against it.”

He explains that he had accepted the movement’s internal arrangements before becoming an MP and declares:

“I therefore declare in advance that I have no ideological or political disagreements with the movement. I have come strictly to implement its plans and vision.”

In the third recording, Shivan Saeed makes a similar commitment:

“I pledge that under no circumstances will I deviate from the decisions of the movement…”

Taken together, the pledges establish a clear expectation that elected representatives will subordinate their independent political judgment to the decisions of New Generation’s central leadership.

A Response to Previous Defections

The movement introduced the pledge following defections by its parliamentary representatives during the previous term, which it attributed to the pursuit of personal and financial advantages.

The apparent purpose was to prevent a recurrence by securing an explicit commitment from candidates before they entered parliament.

From the movement’s perspective, such commitments are intended to protect party unity, preserve the political mandate on which its candidates were elected and prevent individual MPs from abandoning the movement’s collective position after securing their seats.

However, the wording of the pledges also raises broader questions about the independence of elected representatives.

In particular, the undertaking not to express disagreement, even when personally opposed to a decision, goes beyond a commitment to vote with a parliamentary faction. It places political obedience and the suppression of public dissent at the centre of the relationship between the movement and its MPs.

The recordings therefore highlight a fundamental tension between a political organisation’s demand for internal discipline and an elected lawmaker’s responsibility to exercise judgment in representing the public.

Three MPs Break Ranks as Parliament Resumes Work

The controversy unfolded as the Kurdistan Parliament resumed proceedings on Wednesday, 4 November, following a prolonged political deadlock since the October 2024 elections.

Despite boycotts by New Generation, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and several other parties, 52 members of the 100-seat legislature attended, exceeding the 51-member quorum required to proceed.

The session elected Vala Farid of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) as parliament speaker, Rami Noori as deputy speaker and Muna Qahwachi as secretary.

The attendance of the three MPs elected on New Generation’s list contributed to securing that quorum.

Shivan Saeed, who has said he is no longer part of New Generation, described his participation as a personal decision.

Their attendance directly contradicted the movement’s collective boycott position, while the newly publicised recordings demonstrate the extent of their earlier commitments to obey that position.

Party Loyalty Versus Parliamentary Independence

The release of the videos has brought into focus the question of whom elected MPs are ultimately accountable to: their political organisation, its leadership or the voters who elected them.

Political parties routinely require members to maintain collective discipline, particularly on major parliamentary votes. The New Generation recordings, however, contain an explicit promise not to dissent publicly even when an MP privately disagrees with the movement’s position.

That distinction is significant. The pledges do not merely require lawmakers to act collectively; they seek to prevent them from openly expressing an independent political position contrary to the movement’s decisions.

The recordings alone do not establish whether such commitments are legally enforceable or whether the MPs violated any parliamentary rules by attending Wednesday’s session. They do, however, provide direct evidence of the political obligations the movement expected its candidates to accept before taking office.

With three of its elected representatives now acting against its boycott decision, New Generation faces a test of the centralised discipline that the pre-election pledges were designed to secure.

The controversy illustrates a wider question for parliamentary democracy in the Kurdistan Region: where does legitimate party discipline end, and where does an elected representative’s independence begin?

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Admin: Harki is an independent investigative journalist and human rights advocate. As a member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), he focuses on exposing corruption and human rights abuses in Kurdistan and Iraq. He voluntarily contributes to Kurdfile Media.

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