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Three
crucial elections are going to be held
simultaneously in Iraq and Kurdistan at the end of
January 2005. The first is the general Iraqi
election to choose the Iraqi national assembly
(parliament) which will be responsible for drafting
the permanent constitution, choosing the president
and prime minister for Iraq, The second is the
general election in Kurdistan to choose the national
assembly of the Kurdistan region, this Parliament
would practically abolish the current split
administrations of Arbil and Sulaimany and choose a
unified democratically elected government in the
part of south Kurdistan north to the so-called green
line( Kirkuk and other Kurdistani cities of
Khanaguin, Mandali, Shekhan, Shangal apparently will
not participate in this election, because its
rejoining to Kurdistan is politically not settled
yet!), the third election will be held in each of
the 18 Iraqi governorates to select the city
councils and municipal councils, which will
effectively establish a decentralized administration
in those governorates.
Those three elections are going to shape the future
of Iraq and Kurdistan and although we are only 11
weeks away from that date, we see only very modest
efforts to explain the importance and meanings of
those elections to the people of Iraq in general and
the people of Kurdistan in particular, with only few
TV commercials and few unprofessional dull debates.
Those primitive efforts aim vaguely at encouraging
people to vote, but nothing about the real themes
that should shape those elections, nothing about any
possible alliances between different Iraqi political
groups or to that matter Kurdistani political
groups, nothing about our slogans and goals for
those elections, the people in general seem to be
indifferent or at least confused about consequences
of such elections amidst lack of any clear agendas
for those political groups about their true
political programs and intentions, about their stand
concerning very important issues and concepts like
what is exactly meant by the rule of the majority or
the rights of minorities, about the issue of
federalism in Iraq, about the right of self
determination for Iraqi Kurds, about redressing the
ill effects of Arabisation, about religious
tolerance, about separation of religion from state,
about the rights of expression and political
affiliation, about the role of opposition, political
pluralism and the democratic change of government
through ballot box every few years. It is important
that the people of Iraq and Kurdistan should
understand that those elections are also about
accountability of governing parties, if any of those
parties failed to deliver its promises to the
electorate or mismanaged its mandate, then they will
be punished by the electorate in the next general
election and so any authoritarian or clan domination
will be prevented and corrupt or inefficient
officials will be brought down through democratic
means and made accountable for their shortcomings.
At least the Kurdish preparations seem to be clad
with secrecy and in conclusion, the two main parties
have met each other on different levels many times,
we hear nothing about the subjects discussed or the
procedures adopted, what we hear is just the same
what we have been hearing from those leaderships in
the last few years, that they agreed about every
thing and will implement certain measures and that
the people will hear the good news very soon, but
what subjects and what good news, and when? remain
ambiguous and usually such TV promises are not
delivered. If we take as a measure the performances
of the Kurdish administrations in the process of
election of Iraqi president and prime minister or
the drafting of UNSC resolution 1543 which ignored
the TAL or the process of redressing Arabisation in
Kirkuk, then we have every reason to fear the
outcome of those elections and the preparations of
those parties, which have always been too little and
too late, the pattern we have seen so far, is that
in every crucial milestone the Kurdish leadership
were out maneuvered by Arab Sunni und Arab Shia
alike and came out with disappointing outcomes, only
to start grumbling and complaining for few days in
Kurdish media when every thing is over. We would
like to know what those parties are planning for the
coming elections, and if they really believe in
democracy, it's time to let the people of Kurdistan
directly participate in this process, let the people
of Kurdistan express their fears and wishes, let
them show their political clout, those parties must
have confidence in the wisdom and intelligence of
our people and stop treating them as sheep herd
without political will and power. The political
elite of those Kurdish parties are in no way wiser
or cleverer than the natural political instincts of
the people of Kurdistan. There are certain important
questions which need to be addressed before
embarking in the process of elections in Iraq and
Kurdistan:
1. What have we done so far to ensure that Kirkuki
Kurds deported into Arbil and Sulaimany during
Arabisation campaign will be able to vote as
citizens of Kirkuk governorate?
2. How long we can wait facing the deliberate
reluctance of Iraqi interim central government to
implement of paragraph 58 of TAL concerning
returning of Kurdish refugees to Kirkuk and
resettling of Arab settlers into their original
places in central and south Iraq?
3.How can we guarantee that the two main parties KDP
and PUK will accept the results of elections in
Kurdistan even if that meant one or both of them
could lose their power grip?
4.What have we done so far to gain the support of
Chaldo-Assyrians, Turkmen and original Arabs of
Kirkuk in the crucial coming referendum about future
of Kirkuk?
5. What are the practical and financial measures to
help Kurdish refugees of Kirkuk to return to their
ancestral hometown Kirkuk before the general
elections?
6. With whom are we going to make alliances so that
forces supportive of our cause will govern Iraq?
7.What measures are taken that every citizen (
literate or illiterate) will understand that it's
his democratic right and duty to cast his ballot and
that his voice is very important and will make the
difference?.
I hope that our media will engage in heated debates
concerning these historic elections from now on and
until the 30th of January 2005.
Dr.Nazhad Khasraw Hawramany
Switzerland
http://www.KurdistanObserver.com
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