Kurdistan Islamic Movement stands ground on boycotting election
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Islamic Movement (IMK) on Tuesday said they tried to form coalitions with Islamic and non-Islamic parties, but having failed to do so are standing their ground on boycotting Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary election.
“For this election, our leadership considered it important and a duty to choose boycott for many reasons. By choosing not to be under any party or person’s control, the Islamic Movement stands apart from this foul process as an independent force. Its golden votes will not be given to any candidate or party or individual,” Omer Mohammed, head of the party’s office in Halabja, said in a press conference in the city.
Iraqis will go to the polls to elect a new parliament on Sunday.
IMK leader Erfan Ali Abdulaziz said they tried to form coalitions with five other parties, including two Islamic parties - the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) - “but unfortunately, after many meetings we didn’t get anywhere.”
He said the movement “doubts this election will be held in a fair and clean way” and choosing not to participate is a political act.
The election is happening ahead of schedule, after 2019 protests brought down the government of former prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. There are calls from some parties and voters to boycott the vote because of fears it will be rigged and disillusionment with the political system.
IMK also boycotted Iraq’s previous election in 2018, arguing that Kurdish disunity would make it impossible to promote the Kurdish cause in Baghdad.
Ihsan Mala Ali, a senior official within the movement, called elections a “political game” in an interview with Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman in May.
“From after the invasion of Iraq until now, no election has been free in Iraq. The results were massively interfered with from other countries,” he said. “We have to be honest with our people. We don’t like to make our people busy with such things when we can’t defend their votes.”
There were attempts to form a broad Kurdish coalition for the election, but the parties failed to find common ground and, apart from the Kurdistan Coalition between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Change (Gorran), they are competing for votes individually.
“For this election, our leadership considered it important and a duty to choose boycott for many reasons. By choosing not to be under any party or person’s control, the Islamic Movement stands apart from this foul process as an independent force. Its golden votes will not be given to any candidate or party or individual,” Omer Mohammed, head of the party’s office in Halabja, said in a press conference in the city.
Iraqis will go to the polls to elect a new parliament on Sunday.
IMK leader Erfan Ali Abdulaziz said they tried to form coalitions with five other parties, including two Islamic parties - the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) - “but unfortunately, after many meetings we didn’t get anywhere.”
He said the movement “doubts this election will be held in a fair and clean way” and choosing not to participate is a political act.
The election is happening ahead of schedule, after 2019 protests brought down the government of former prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. There are calls from some parties and voters to boycott the vote because of fears it will be rigged and disillusionment with the political system.
IMK also boycotted Iraq’s previous election in 2018, arguing that Kurdish disunity would make it impossible to promote the Kurdish cause in Baghdad.
Ihsan Mala Ali, a senior official within the movement, called elections a “political game” in an interview with Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman in May.
“From after the invasion of Iraq until now, no election has been free in Iraq. The results were massively interfered with from other countries,” he said. “We have to be honest with our people. We don’t like to make our people busy with such things when we can’t defend their votes.”
There were attempts to form a broad Kurdish coalition for the election, but the parties failed to find common ground and, apart from the Kurdistan Coalition between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Change (Gorran), they are competing for votes individually.