In a campaign speech that focused on the youth, Ali Bapir criticized successive cabinets of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for failing to create job opportunities for young people, thereby causing them to migrate in pursuit of better lives.
“Fleeing the country is not a solution. We have to make the country a place where we can all live. Our country is very rich and if it was not for mismanagement it would be enough for everyone,” Bapir said. “We should live with the reality and change it, rather than escaping from it.”
Hundreds of people leave the Kurdistan Region each month, fleeing unemployment and economic uncertainty, according to figures from an organization that helps migrants deported from Europe. The Europe’s Deported Migrants Association estimates that 27,000 people from the Kurdistan Region illegally crossed into Europe last year, 8,000 of them from the Raparin administration where Ranya is located. Young Kurds risk their lives on smuggling routes into Europe. Many of them have died en route to their destination.
In a recent town hall meeting in Duhok with tens of university students, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called on the youth to love their homeland, saying it belongs to all of them. He also said that he has formed a team from his office to work with universities to encourage the youth to be more active in society.
Five Komal candidates are running for the October 10 parliamentary elections. Most of the party’s voters are in Sulaimani and Halabja.
There are a total of 3,249 candidates, including 951 women, competing for 329 seats in the parliament. There are 25 million eligible voters.
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