Coalition could renew public faith in democracy: Kurdish opposition parties
SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Speculation abounds in the political press that Kurdish opposition parties, notably those opposed to the outcome of the May 12 Iraqi election, are contemplating a united front to run for the Kurdish parliament on September 30.
The parties believe such a move could strengthen public confidence in the electoral process, which has lately ebbed judging by the low turnout in May.
Following the announcement of preliminary results in Iraq’s May 12 election, the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Komal, and the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), alongside the Communist Party of Kurdistan and the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan, collectively rejected the results, claiming the electronic voting system had been hacked.
They allege the vote rigging was targeted at them and specifically accuse the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of fraud. Their united stance has led to speculation they could form a grand coalition to contest the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament (IKP) elections this autumn.
“It is too soon for these four parties to transition from collectively opposing the fraud to working together for the next four years. There is a feeling that such a project requires more time,” Hawzhin Omer, head of Komal’s election body, told Rudaw.
There is an appetite for such coalitions, however. On Monday, the KIU and the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan announced the creation of the “Reform Front” to run a united Islamic ticket. They also shared a single Islamic list in the May election.
While Omer does not rule out the possibility of working jointly, building alliances prior to elections is often difficult, he said.
“It is mostly felt that the thought and direction of the work of these parties is towards Iraq,” Omer argued.
Komal is an Islamist Kurdish party, while the CDJ and Gorran are mostly secular. Omer, however, denies ideological factors are obstructing such a coalition.
“We in the Kurdistan Region have transcended the reality of ideological barriers to the formation of coalitions. For example, we formed a coalition with Gorran and the CDJ named Homeland in Kirkuk and the disputed territories, but we couldn’t establish an Islamic list,” Omer argued.
Many of these parties’ supporters are hopeful a coalition could reestablish confidence in the electoral process.
“If we work together, we can achieve many things. Gorran has been our political partner in the last four years, although we weren’t the same list. For example, our efforts in Baghdad against fraud and revealing it yielded good results because we worked collectively,” Omer said.
Nevertheless, Omer is not confident the KDP and PUK would hand over power peacefully, even if the four parties can collectively obtain the majority of votes.
In a statement, the CDJ has called on the opposition to build a coalition for the Kurdistan Region’s elections.
“If a coalition isn’t formed, then it is due to the viewpoints of every side, but we as the CDJ support the formation of a coalition, and it is our request,” Rebwar Karim, spokesperson for the CDJ, told Rudaw.
“We can form a joint faction. It is our aim to create a powerful faction in the upcoming parliamentary elections of Kurdistan Region,” Karim added.
There is a contemporary example of this strategy succeeding. In Malaysia, a front was established composed of opposition forces, which was able to garner the majority of the parliament’s seats in the country’s May 14 election.
“The experience in Malaysia on all levels is much more developed than the experience in the Kurdistan Region. Besides a strong economy, they have an independent judiciary, and a democracy. The problem we have in the Kurdistan Region is that there are some forces unwilling to hand over authority under any circumstances,” Omer argued.
Although the four parties are giving nothing away, they still have time to band together against the traditional parties.
The parties believe such a move could strengthen public confidence in the electoral process, which has lately ebbed judging by the low turnout in May.
Following the announcement of preliminary results in Iraq’s May 12 election, the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Komal, and the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), alongside the Communist Party of Kurdistan and the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan, collectively rejected the results, claiming the electronic voting system had been hacked.
They allege the vote rigging was targeted at them and specifically accuse the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of fraud. Their united stance has led to speculation they could form a grand coalition to contest the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament (IKP) elections this autumn.
“It is too soon for these four parties to transition from collectively opposing the fraud to working together for the next four years. There is a feeling that such a project requires more time,” Hawzhin Omer, head of Komal’s election body, told Rudaw.
There is an appetite for such coalitions, however. On Monday, the KIU and the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan announced the creation of the “Reform Front” to run a united Islamic ticket. They also shared a single Islamic list in the May election.
While Omer does not rule out the possibility of working jointly, building alliances prior to elections is often difficult, he said.
“It is mostly felt that the thought and direction of the work of these parties is towards Iraq,” Omer argued.
Komal is an Islamist Kurdish party, while the CDJ and Gorran are mostly secular. Omer, however, denies ideological factors are obstructing such a coalition.
“We in the Kurdistan Region have transcended the reality of ideological barriers to the formation of coalitions. For example, we formed a coalition with Gorran and the CDJ named Homeland in Kirkuk and the disputed territories, but we couldn’t establish an Islamic list,” Omer argued.
Many of these parties’ supporters are hopeful a coalition could reestablish confidence in the electoral process.
“If we work together, we can achieve many things. Gorran has been our political partner in the last four years, although we weren’t the same list. For example, our efforts in Baghdad against fraud and revealing it yielded good results because we worked collectively,” Omer said.
Nevertheless, Omer is not confident the KDP and PUK would hand over power peacefully, even if the four parties can collectively obtain the majority of votes.
In a statement, the CDJ has called on the opposition to build a coalition for the Kurdistan Region’s elections.
“If a coalition isn’t formed, then it is due to the viewpoints of every side, but we as the CDJ support the formation of a coalition, and it is our request,” Rebwar Karim, spokesperson for the CDJ, told Rudaw.
“We can form a joint faction. It is our aim to create a powerful faction in the upcoming parliamentary elections of Kurdistan Region,” Karim added.
There is a contemporary example of this strategy succeeding. In Malaysia, a front was established composed of opposition forces, which was able to garner the majority of the parliament’s seats in the country’s May 14 election.
“The experience in Malaysia on all levels is much more developed than the experience in the Kurdistan Region. Besides a strong economy, they have an independent judiciary, and a democracy. The problem we have in the Kurdistan Region is that there are some forces unwilling to hand over authority under any circumstances,” Omer argued.
Although the four parties are giving nothing away, they still have time to band together against the traditional parties.