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Iraqi Kurdistan vote may bring strife as
change looms
3.5.2009
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May 3, 2009
SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan region 'Iraq',
— Iraq's autonomous Kurds go to
the polls this summer in an election likely to
redraw the local political map and bring factional
violence to the otherwise calm region.
The two Kurdish parties that have dominated politics
for decades will confront new challengers in the
election for the regional parliament, including from
their own ranks, and few expect them to bow out
peacefully.
Some are looking to the rest of Iraq, which has
weathered years of sectarian attacks and insurgent
bombings since the 2003 US-led liberation, as a
model after it held peaceful provincial elections at
the start of the year.
"The Kurds need to learn the lesson and move towards
the more civil and peaceful rivalries that prevailed
among the different Iraqi factions," said Shaswar
Karim, a 60-year-old shopkeeper in the city of
Sulaimaniyah.
"What worries us is the beginning of the hurtful
language and harsh accusations between the different
lists and political powers in the media, which
indicates there may soon be violence between the
competing factions."
The last time elections to Kurdistan's parliament
were held in 2005 the two main parties -- the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani and the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) led by Kurdistan president
Massoud Barzani -- formed a joint list that won 80
of the 111 seats.
Ten seats are reserved for the region's Turkmen,
Christian and Yazidi minorities. The Islamic Union
of Kurdistan won nine seats, the more radical
Islamic Group of Kurdistan gained six seats, and
three smaller left-wing parties won the remainder.
But this year's vote, expected in the second half of
July, could snap the two main parties' virtual
monopoly on power, veteran politicians say.
Jawhar Namiq Salem, the former head of the KDP's
political office and the first speaker of the
regional parliament, a post he held for eight years,
said the autonomous regional government will have to
rein in factional fighting.
"The two main parties are the ones which will resort
to violence because they will lose a lot," he said.
"I expect to see brave new faces."
The Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq,
which supervised the country's provincial council
elections in January, will oversee the vote and has
certified 41 political entities, with one final
application pending.
Those registered include a breakaway faction from
the PUK, the "Change" list led by Talabani's former
deputy Nawshirwan Mustafa. His is a rare challenge
to the decades-old political powerhouse that has
alarmed PUK leaders.
"If they are looking for change then the two
principle powers must form a united front. Change
must begin from within their ranks," senior PUK
official Saadi Ahmed Bira said.
The PUK will be holding a conference in June to
discuss the internal differences, and it has already
agreed to run again on a list with the KDP.
The PUK is expected to re-elect Talabani, 76,
despite concerns about his health, the party leader
having been regularly treated in Jordan and the
United States in recent years for various ailments.
"The Patriotic Union and its leaders will re-elect
Talabani to the post of secretary general because
the Kurdish and Iraqi forces prefer Mum (Uncle)
Jalal above all the others," Bira said, using a
Kurdish title of respect.
"The health of the president is good, it's better
than anyone's."
The two Islamic parties are anticipating an improved
showing in the elections, but are fearful that the
two secular parties may lash out at them.
"I am convinced that the Democratic Party and the
Patriotic Union will not win the same percentage
they did in 2005," said Ali Babir, the head of the
Islamic Group, which renounced violence in 2003.
"If we did not decide that war would not end our
differences the vote of violence would impose itself
(on us)," he added. "The Islamic awakening and the
religious current is growing and spreading."
Hiwa Mirza Saber, head of the more moderate Muslim
Brotherhood-inspired Islamic Union, said he shared
the grim outlook.
"The situation demands caution and alertness by the
two principle parties," he said. "I call on the
regional president (Barzani) to personally watch
over the elections."
Copyright, respective
author or news agency,
AFP
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