SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Both Gorran and the Islamic Group (Komal) have decided to withdraw from the coalition government of the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday.
Gorran decided to give up the post of the Parliament Speaker held by Yousif Mohammed.
Gorran’s leadership held a meeting in Sulaimani on Wednesday, following which they also decided to suspend an alliance agreement it signed with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in May, 2016 that resulted in forming a joint leadership.
The two joined the coalition government dominated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) after the 2013 parliamentary elections.
Gorran’s ministers were suspended in October 2015 because of tensions with KDP in the aftermath of deadly clashes that year which affected the majority of Kurdish cities in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces.
Gorran’s General Assembly voted last week to withdraw from the KRG and today the party’s executive body, the National Assembly made the final decision to leave.
Komal fills two ministries at the KRG: The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Both parties have stated that they support the demands of the protesters that have been ongoing since Monday who ask for better services, fight against widespread corruption, and the full payment of delayed or reduced of public salaries. However, they urged calm from all sides following two days of deadly violent protests.
Gorran urged other parties to dissolve the current cabinet, and form an interim government following the loss of many Kurdistani or disputed areas such as the oil-rich Kirkuk to Iraqi forces in mid-October. Both the KDP, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, two of the main ruling parties in the Kurdistan Region, rejected Gorran call.
Both Gorran and Komal stated that they had joined the KRG cabinet on the promise that they would work with other parties to root out corruption and improve various public sectors.
They said the ruling parties, the KDP and the PUK, continued on the course of wide-level “corruption,” extended the term of the then president of the Kurdistan Region for two years in 2015, suspended the parliament for two years, and sacked Gorran ministers of the cabinet.
They added that the ruling parties drove the Kurdistan Region to economic and financial failure and caused the downfall of the Kurdistan Region’s vote on independence.
Both Gorran and Komal called on the KRG to form an interim government to be tasked with preparing for the upcoming elections and holding talks with the Iraqi government in the aftermath of the loss of the disputed or Kurdistani areas in October.
“But after spending several months in waiting, we lost our hope to remain part of this government,” the two parties said in a joint statement on Wednesday night.
They called again on parties in the Kurdistan Region to form an interim government.
They two parties said that they support “the just demands of protesters,” who do so in a civil manner, away from violence; that they “condemn” attacks on offices of political and governmental offices; that there is “no ground” to arrest, detain or kill protesters; that those protesters arrested by the security forces must be released; and that any elections to be held must first guarantee that the list of voters will be cleaned.
They concluded that they will begin a “new political phase” that will mainly focus on forming a new alliance to carry out their stated objectives.
Gorran has 23 seats at the Kurdish parliament and Komal holds six. Gorran dismissed one of its members of parliament in September.
Three parties remain in the government: The KDP with 38 seats, the PUK with 18 seats, and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) with 10 seats.
The minorities who are allies with either the PUK or the KDP have 11 seats.
The Kurdish parliament has 111 seats total. It extended its current term for eight months in late October after the elections set for November 1 were postponed mainly because of the Iraqi military incursion.
The KRG last week asked the parliament to set a date for the general elections including the presidential election within three months.
Gorran rejects PM Barzani’s invite to rejoin KRG
Last updated at 10:08 p.m.
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