ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Ala Talabani, former head of the PUK’s faction in the Iraqi parliament, is running for re-election on the list of the Baghdad Coalition.
She described the coalition as a “national” entity and said that she has not joined a political party.
Talabani, the niece of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) founder Jalal Talabani, said she informed family members, including Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, and some leaders about her decision.
Saadi Pira, PUK spokesperson, told VOA News Kurdish that Ibrahim Ahmed opposed Talabani’s run on the Arab list.
The Baghdad Coalition is led by Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, former speaker of the Iraqi parliament.
Talabani made the decision to run on an Arab list after falling out with her party.
In a video she posted on social media this week, Talabani accused some members of the PUK’s leadership of carrying out an “illegitimate attack and campaign against me because of some of my righteous positions on the removal of Hoshyar Zebari and all the injustice conducted against Kirkuk.”
Talabani backed the removal of Hoshyar Zebari, a member of the KDP, from the post of Iraq’s Finance Minister in 2016 in a no-confidence vote in the parliament.
"The performance of the finance minister, Hoshyar Zebari, was full of mistakes and his answers in the parliament were unconvincing," she told al-Ghad Press in October 2017, justifying her position on the matter.
The PUK has largely been blamed for the loss of Kirkuk in October 2017.
Talabani said in her video message that PUK leaders tried to expel her from the party’s leadership but failed to get enough votes, at which point they made the decision to freeze her out. She added that she has asked the party to explain why they want her out, but has not yet been given an answer.
This is the latest defection from the beleaguered PUK. Former second deputy leader Barham Salih is expected give the party some strong competition with his newly-formed Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ).
Pira told VOA that the party was purging from its ranks not only Ala Talabani, but “all those who have nominated themselves outside the PUK list or work for other lists.”
The PUK is campaigning with the slogan 'Reclaiming the Future.'
She described the coalition as a “national” entity and said that she has not joined a political party.
Talabani, the niece of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) founder Jalal Talabani, said she informed family members, including Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, and some leaders about her decision.
Saadi Pira, PUK spokesperson, told VOA News Kurdish that Ibrahim Ahmed opposed Talabani’s run on the Arab list.
The Baghdad Coalition is led by Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, former speaker of the Iraqi parliament.
Talabani made the decision to run on an Arab list after falling out with her party.
In a video she posted on social media this week, Talabani accused some members of the PUK’s leadership of carrying out an “illegitimate attack and campaign against me because of some of my righteous positions on the removal of Hoshyar Zebari and all the injustice conducted against Kirkuk.”
Talabani backed the removal of Hoshyar Zebari, a member of the KDP, from the post of Iraq’s Finance Minister in 2016 in a no-confidence vote in the parliament.
"The performance of the finance minister, Hoshyar Zebari, was full of mistakes and his answers in the parliament were unconvincing," she told al-Ghad Press in October 2017, justifying her position on the matter.
The PUK has largely been blamed for the loss of Kirkuk in October 2017.
Talabani said in her video message that PUK leaders tried to expel her from the party’s leadership but failed to get enough votes, at which point they made the decision to freeze her out. She added that she has asked the party to explain why they want her out, but has not yet been given an answer.
This is the latest defection from the beleaguered PUK. Former second deputy leader Barham Salih is expected give the party some strong competition with his newly-formed Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ).
Pira told VOA that the party was purging from its ranks not only Ala Talabani, but “all those who have nominated themselves outside the PUK list or work for other lists.”
The PUK is campaigning with the slogan 'Reclaiming the Future.'
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