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March
15, 2010 - Sulaimaniyah,
Erbil-Hewler, Duhok, Kirkuk, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq'
UN envoy in Kurdistan to
meet Kurdish leaders
Erbil: The special representative of the United
Nations secretary general for Iraq (SRSG), Ad
Melkert, has arrived in Iraq’s Kurdistan region to
meet with Kurdish leaders, an informed media source
said on Monday. “This morning, the head of the
foreign relations department in the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG), Falah Mostafa, received
Melkert at Erbil International Airport,” the source
told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. During the visit,
Melkert is expected to exchange points of view with
Kurdish officials about the results of the
legislative elections, which took place on March 7,
the source pointed out. aswataliraq info
Many people in Erbil have
been disenfranchised
Erbil: Process in Erbil was going on well until 3pm,
but a big number of people of that he election
governorate deprived of voting.
"I searched many polling stations to find my name,
but I couldn't, as they were always telling me to
visit another station" said Sa'd Qadir a resident
from Erbil whose name was not registered in the
voters' list. According to some information Hawlati
accessed, after 3pm, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
transported previously gathered people from the KDP
and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) offices with
buses to particular polling stations with a view to
use the unused voting cards. A monitor of Iraqi
Independent Electoral Commission (IHEC) from Salah-al-Din
polling station in Arbil who asked for anonymity
says a Change List monitor had an argument with an
IHEC employee; the police arrested the monitor and
pulled him out. hawlati info
Bodyguards of a Kurdish
official beat a civilian citizen
Erbil; The 50-years-old man, Abubakir Mahumd says he
went to Erbil from Qaladize town so that he could
vote on the voting day, as his name was not
registered in his town. During his stay in Erbil on
the voting day and by the night fall, some
bodyguards of a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)'s
official abducted him, imprisoned and beat him. The
man denies having any enmity between him and others.
Mahmud says that he could identify the gunmen that
are bodyguards of Nasreen Barwary. "We are relatives
and I am going to file a lawsuit against them". hawlati info
Authorities infringe
journalists' freedom of action
The Iraqi Journalism Freedom Perspective – A local
NGO- points to some terrifying violation actions
against journalists' rights and freedom of their
action. The organization explains that most of the
violations have been occurred in Kurdistan Region.
Head of the organization Ziyad Al-Ujayli tells Al-Sharq-al-Awsat
newspaper that many reporters and journalistic teams
have been prevented from doing overseeing the
elections. He says that some of reporters were
arrested. Names Erbil as the best place where
journalists enjoyed freedom in visiting all polling
stations. Al-Ujayli says that 27 violation actions
against journalists have been registered in Iraqi
governorates excluding Kurdistan Region's. He
expresses concerns over escalation of violence
against journalists in Kurdistan Region, especially
during the elections when 23 cases registered. hawlati info
Kurdish delegation to
Baghdad for alliance talks – MP
Baghdad: A member of Iraq’s outgoing parliament
revealed that the main two Kurdish parties will form
a high-level delegation to head to Baghdad for talks
on the formation of an alliance with the political
blocs and powers. “The leaders of incumbent Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) and Iraqi Kurdistan Region President
Massoud Barazani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
will send a delegation to Baghdad in the next few
days to have deliberations with the political powers
expected to be winners in the parliamentary
elections,” Tania Talaat, a legislator from the
Kurdistan Alliance (KA) bloc, told Aswat al-Iraq
news agency. She noted that there are blocs that
have ideas and platforms similar to those of the KA,
particularly as regards the application of article
140 of the constitution concerning the issue of the
oil-rich city of Kirkuk. “The next government
line-up would take the winning blocs a long time to
finalize,” Talaat noted. aswataliraq info
Fate of 14m ballot papers
has yet to be revealed
Earlier last month, the Iraqi Independent High
Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced that nearly
19m Iraqis were eligible to vote and it printed 26m
ballot papers, Which means that seven million
additional voting cards printed. With the election
complete, it was figured out that only 12m people
had voted in the voting day. Now, the question is
over the fate of the 14bn remained and additional
voting papers. The Iraqi Constitutional and
Libertarian Rights Perspective – A local NGO- warns
the electoral commission to let public know about
the fate of those ballot papers as soon as possible
transparently. hawlati info
Female parliamentary
candidates complain
Political parties and entities do not reveal primary
results of the election to their candidates,
therefore it is not clear which woman candidate has
succeeded. One of them shows her believe that she
needs astrologers' help so that she can know if she
succeeded. "In a male dominant society like ours,
women have not voted for women let alone men, so how
should I expect wining. I should go to astrologers"
Kurdistan Alliance List's candidate number 11 on
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Amal Jalal said.
Another woman PUK candidate Shawbow Askari complains
about not being able to have access to the election
primary unofficial results. She says no one tells
her anything about the results, all of them hide
information. Two other female candidates from KA and
Change lists tell the same story. hawlati info
Several prisoners have been
wounded in a discord occurred in Sulaimaniyah
Ma'skar-Salam prison
Sulaimaniyah: An informed source says, on night of 7
March, at around 10pm, during searching prisoners in
Ma'skar-Salam jail in Sulaimaniyah for drugs and
phone cells by the jail's administration, a disorder
occurred that led to wounding of several prisoners.
"In fact, the did not aimed at searching, the tense
situation was created as most of the prisoners voted
for Change List, and the act came as punish, then
one of the prisoners broke a door using a gas
capsule". The anonymous source added. The source
adds that after that, forces that were wearing black
uniform entered the prison and opened fire that
wounded six prisoners. Head of Social Reform Office
Colonel Shwan Abdallah denies that the incident have
any link with the election, saying that one of the
prisoners was carrying a mobile and rejected to give
it to the guards, and prisoner broke up a door. The
guards opened fire at them consequently. Abdallah
confirms the report with regards to injury of six
prisoners. hawlati info
Minor political parties
justify their failure
Kurdistan Region smaller political parties have not
gained enough votes to win a parliamentary seat in
the Iraqi election. The parties' figures have
different justifications fort their failure,
Kurdistan Communist Party (KCP), for instance,
blames the Election Law and Independent-Kurdistan
Toilers' Party (IKTP) ascribes the reasons to
pressures resulted from the major political parties'
rivalries. KCP Political Bureau Member Abu Tara
(Tara's Father) says Iraqi Election Law has been
drafted in the favour of the major political
parties, disregarding smaller ones. He describes the
law as "law of beheading Iraqi and Kurdistan Region
smaller political parties ". He adds that the law
has thwarted smaller political parties' efforts to
attend parliament. Member of IKTP's Political Bureau
Fatah Zakhoyee attributes the reasons behind their
failure to the fierce rivalries between major
political parties, namely Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Change
List. Zakhoyee believes the rival parties targeted
same group of people who were expected to vote for
the smaller parties. Without pointing out them, he
adds that there are other reasons for his party's
fail. hawlati info
With the lack of sufficient
votes, smaller parties expect parliamentary seats
A number of political parties and entities run for
the election as allies of Kurdistan Alliance List
(KA) of the region's two main parties of Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP), have not earned enough votes to take
parliamentary seats. Member of Kurdistan Socialist
Democratic Party (KSDP)'s Political Bureau Abdallah
Haji Mahmud believes his party will win a seat in
Sulaimaniyah Governorate, as, he says, in Garmiyan
and Sharazur areas his party's candidate is ahead of
the other KA candidates. Leadership members of other
political parties allies of KA, Kurdistan Communist
Party, Independent-Kurdistan Toilers' Party and
Kurdistan Islamic Movement admit that their parties'
candidates have not gained enough votes to win
parliamentary seats, although, they all expect their
candidates to go to Iraqi parliament benefiting from
compensation seats in the governorates. hawlati info
Copyright, respective
author or news agency
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