Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP is willing to participate in Iraqi parliament elections, due next October, in Kirkuk unlike 2018 elections, senior official of KDP said.
Khasraw Goran, head of KDP elections’ office, said KDP is willing to run for the elections and support the idea of “a unified Kurdish bloc.”
The decision is a turning point in the political view of KDP, the leading Kurdish party led by Masoud Barzani and based in Erbil, as the party has boycotted 2018 parliamentary election in Kirkuk after October 2017 events when Iraqi troops regained control of Kirkuk and disputed territories following ISIS claimed defeat.
In October, 2017, Iraqi troops backed by pro-Shiite militias expelled Kurds from Kirkuk following a referendum to join Kurdistan region held by the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
Since then, the KDP suspended all its political activities in Kirkuk province, and most of the officials affiliated with the party who used to occupy governmental, security and administrative positions were displaced to Erbil.
The KDP defines recontroling Kirkuk “occupation” and demands a pact alike Shingal agreement signed in May 2020 between the Erbil and Baghdad for appointment of a new administration, ousting militiamen to be replaced with joint troops to oversee the security all over the province.
“We will run for the elections in all Kurdish inhabited areas in Iraq even Kirkuk,” Goran confirmed. KDP has held meetings with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, and other Kurdish political parties as preparations for parliamentary elections.
“We will run for the elections in all Kurdish inhabited areas in Iraq even Kirkuk,” Goran confirmed.
The Kurdish parties have met in Iraqi Kurdistan parliament with parliament speaker to discuss a unified Kurdish list and the techniques of the new law for 2021 elections.
“I have no idea about that meeting (in the parliament) but we support a unified list and unity of parties in Kirkuk,” Goran said.
The oil rich city of Kirkuk, located 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, is an ethnically mixed province of Kurds, Sunni and Shiite Arabs, and Turkmen. It has long been at the center of disputes between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
KDP accuses PUK of collaboration with Baghdad in October 2017 events. In exchange, PUK blames KDP-led referendum has triggered Iraqi government’s assault to gain power in Kirkuk. Rakan Saeed al-Jiburi, a Sunni Arab has been appointed as acting governor of Kirkuk since October 2017, after the Iraqi parliament sacked former Kurdish governor Najmaddin Karim.
Kirkuk people vote for Iraqi parliament election in 2018. Photo by Karwan Salihi
The new stand of KDP comes as 11 Kurdish political parties have met in Kirkuk on Sunday. KDP and New Generation (Naway Nwy) have not attended the meeting.
"We have discussed upcoming elections and forming a new alliance," Rasul Raouf, representative of Kurdistan Social Democratic party KSDP in Kirkuk said. "We unanimously agreed that Kurds in all disputed areas as coming elections are decisive for the Kurdish nation."
KirkukNow has got a copy of the meeting memorandum. There were discussions about logo of the alliance and position of each party.
"I believe KDP shares the same views that Kurds should be united in Kirkuk. We have to be careful or we will lose so we have to agree about 7 candidates, KDP and PUK should be more flexible," Rasul added.
The new law ratified last November, a key demand of demonstrators in 2019, changes each of the country’s 18 provinces into several electoral districts in order to prevent parties from running on unified lists, which has in the past helped them easily take all the seats in a specific province. Instead, the seats would go to whoever gets the most votes in the electoral districts.
The 329-member house of representatives was elected in May 2018. The vote is held every four years, but the protesters have been demanding early elections.
