ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Six Kurdish parties met on Monday to discuss their response to alleged fraud in the May 12 Iraqi parliamentary election. In a joint statement, they demanded a repeat of Saturday’s election in the Kurdistan Region, the province of Kirkuk, and the disputed territories, monitored by international observers.
The Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Islamic League (Komal), the Kurdistan Communist Party, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement (IMK) met earlier at KIU headquarters in Erbil.
“Unfortunately, the electronic voting system was faced with a systematic and pre-planned fraud,” Salahadin Bahadin, the head of KIU, told reporters following the joint meeting.
The parties reject the preliminary results and the election process “in its entirety,” he said.
“We ask for the redoing of elections in the Kurdistan Region, the province of Kirkuk, and the disputed territories under international monitoring as soon as possible.”
“We will undertake all the legal, political and civilian measures, far from any type of violence.”
Salahadin announced the formation of a joint committee for coordinating between the six parties “to follow up and retrieve the stolen votes of the supporters.”
“The door is open for any political party ready to defend rights of our nation’s voters,” he added. “We call on the Independent High Electoral Commission to respond to our demands quickly.”
The election commission rejected calls for a revote earlier on Monday in a press conference in Erbil.
New Generation did not join the meeting, but filed a lawsuit in Baghdad against Iraq's electoral commission on Monday, complaining of fraud, even citing last night's unofficial announcement of election results for 10 of 18 provinces in the country.
The Iraqi election commission announced prior to the elections that “preliminary unofficial results” would be available 24-48 hours after polls closed on 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Early Monday morning, it announced preliminary results for 10 of the 18 provinces of Iraq — omitting most of the northern and Kurdish provinces' results.
Voter turnout was 55 percent in Duhok, 48 percent in Erbil, and 40 percent in Sulaimani, according to the IHEC. Across Iraq's 18 provinces, it was 44.52 percent.
The Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Islamic League (Komal), the Kurdistan Communist Party, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement (IMK) met earlier at KIU headquarters in Erbil.
“Unfortunately, the electronic voting system was faced with a systematic and pre-planned fraud,” Salahadin Bahadin, the head of KIU, told reporters following the joint meeting.
The parties reject the preliminary results and the election process “in its entirety,” he said.
“We ask for the redoing of elections in the Kurdistan Region, the province of Kirkuk, and the disputed territories under international monitoring as soon as possible.”
“We will undertake all the legal, political and civilian measures, far from any type of violence.”
Salahadin announced the formation of a joint committee for coordinating between the six parties “to follow up and retrieve the stolen votes of the supporters.”
“The door is open for any political party ready to defend rights of our nation’s voters,” he added. “We call on the Independent High Electoral Commission to respond to our demands quickly.”
The election commission rejected calls for a revote earlier on Monday in a press conference in Erbil.
New Generation did not join the meeting, but filed a lawsuit in Baghdad against Iraq's electoral commission on Monday, complaining of fraud, even citing last night's unofficial announcement of election results for 10 of 18 provinces in the country.
The Iraqi election commission announced prior to the elections that “preliminary unofficial results” would be available 24-48 hours after polls closed on 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Early Monday morning, it announced preliminary results for 10 of the 18 provinces of Iraq — omitting most of the northern and Kurdish provinces' results.
Voter turnout was 55 percent in Duhok, 48 percent in Erbil, and 40 percent in Sulaimani, according to the IHEC. Across Iraq's 18 provinces, it was 44.52 percent.
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