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Parties
campaigning in Iraqi Kurdistan are failing to win
over cynical voters.
Multi-coloured political posters decorate the main
streets of Sulaimaniyah, the main city in the
northeast of the Kurdish region, competing with each
other for wall space and the attention of
prospective voters.
The promises on these banners are as varied as the
parties themselves.
A sign from the Kurdish Unity List offers "a quick
programme for restoring water, electricity and
fuel". The list brings together the two main Kurdish
parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, and
the Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, plus other
political groups for the election to the Iraqi
National Assembly; the parties are standing
separately for governorate-level and Kurdish
regional assembly ballots.
Another poster, from the Kurdistan Democratic
Socialists, promises a new orphanage, while the
Toilers' and Independents' Party reaches out to
women, pledging equality between the sexes.
Many Kurdish voters say they know from experience
that these promises are worth little more than the
paper on which they are printed.
"Kurdistan people have experience with the Kurdish
authorities. That is why they are skeptical of
them," said Fahradin Qadir, head of a radio station
run by the Islamic League in Kurdistan.
Iraqi Kurds have more recent experience with
democracy than their Arab neighbours. In addition to
municipal elections, voters elected a Kurdish
assembly in 1992, the year after Saddam Hussein lost
control over the provinces of Sulaimaniyah, Arbil
and Dahuk.
But disputes over that election ultimately sparked a
civil war between the region's largest factions, the
KDP and PUK. Today, the two parties administer the
Kurdish territories together and have formed a joint
ticket for the transitional National Assembly
election.
The future status of Kirkuk is one of the top
campaign themes. Some Kurds want to see the oil-rich
city become the capital of an independent Kurdistan,
but Kirkuk lies outside the Kurdish-administered
area and is home to large numbers of Arabs, Turkoman
and other minorities. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds
were expelled from Kirkuk as part of Saddam's "Arabisation"
policy, which the Kurdish parties promise to
reverse.
A Kurdish Unity List poster shows a picture of an
oil well with the slogan, "Kirkuk is a Kurdish
Treasure". But voters are doubtful the parties can
deliver on the pledge.
"Recently the ruling Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
and the Kurdistan Democratic Parity have had a good
position on Kirkuk, but I don't think they can
remake it as a Kurdish city and re-annex it to
Kurdistan," said driver Hiwa Jamal.
Kirkuk resident Kaiywan Mahmud said although he is
sceptical that the parties will succeed in getting
Kirkuk incorporated into the Kurdish region, he will
still go to the polls on January 30.
"Kurds in Kirkuk have to vote to show the real
number of the Kurds," he said.
Providing basic services such as electricity and
fuel is another popular campaign promise. Baran
Dilshad and Didar Kamaran, two university students,
say that they cannot get married because of the
housing shortage in Sulaimaniyah.
"The PUK and KDP get the majority of the seats in
the election, but why haven't they implemented any
promises in the last 13 years?" asked Dilshad.
A member of the PUK called the voter scepticism
"baseless."
"As a government we have implemented any promises we
have given people,"
said Azad Jundiani, head of the PUK's media centre.
"And in cases where we haven't been able to carry
out our promises, we have done our best for them."
Arif Tayfur, a member of the KDP's political bureau,
admits voters have the right to be doubtful, because
not everything that was promised has been delivered.
The months ahead will determine which politicians
can be trusted to keep their promises, he said.
Some voters say the Kurdish parties simply do not
have the power to keep their campaign pledges. They
fear that there are forces both inside and outside
Iraq working against the Kurds. "Kurds have many
enemies, said painter Soran Rafat. "They fear a
strong Kurdish entity. That is why they work to
prevent it."
This story has not been bylined because of concerns
for the security of IWPR reporters.
http://www.iwpr.net
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