ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region’s two main Islamic groups announced this week they would run separately in September’s local elections, ending months of speculation over whether Islamic groups would run under a single banner.
“We will run separately and with new energy and separate goals in the upcoming elections,” the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and Islamic League (Komal) said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
That ended months of serious speculation over whether the Kurdish Islamic parties may run on a joint slate in Kurdistan’s parliamentary elections in September.
Komal’s spokesperson Muhammad Hakim told Rudaw that it is in his party’s best interest to participate independently.
“Our assessment of the current situation in Kurdistan and our party’s interests told us that it is better to run alone in the elections,” he said. “But we’ll still maintain full cooperation with other Islamic groups.”
The decision by the two parties has been a disappointment to the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan (IMK), which had first proposed the idea of a joint Islamic bloc.
“Unfortunately, we got to hear about their decision on TV,” said Kamal Rahim, head of the IMK’s political bureau. “They were supposed to come and consult us first,” he complained.
Hadi Ali, a major Islamic figure in Kurdistan and former member of the KIU’s political bureau, said he believes that identical religious beliefs do not mean that all Islamic parties should band together in the elections.
“Having one religion and one prophet doesn’t mean we should also have one list in the elections,” Ali told Rudaw.
“The Islamic parties do not have a strategic national agenda and they do not have much faith winning a majority vote,” added Ali. “Their participation is only for the sake of participation and not for winning the elections,” he opined.
