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The
Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the
Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has decided
to join the January 30th elections, a departure from
the previous call to delay the elections.
The groups made a joint announcement on the PUK's
website, which declared that neither group would
hinder voters from participating in the January 30th
elections, or abstain from running for elected
office.
The announcement did consider the possibility of a
delayed election, should security conditions worsen,
and noted that none of the groups would object to
delayed election unless this be the wish of other
political parties.
On November 27th, ten political parties endorsed a
collaborative statement that called for a delay of
six-month delay of the elections. Shiites objected
and demanded that the date, January 30th, remain
unchanged.
Sunni parties have not changed their desire for a
six-month delay of elections. They cited continued
violence as a primary deterrent. Many political
watchers and administrators in Iraq anticipate a
Sunni boycott of the January 30th elections.
Cihan
Bagdat (Baghdad
http://www.zaman.com
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