ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Four hundred members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party have applied to run in the Iraqi parliament elections in April, but only 30 names have made it to the desk of the KDP’s political bureau.
“A large number of people have forwarded their CVs. We only chose 30 applicants and sent the names to the political bureau for the final selection,” said Kakamin Najar, a member of the bureau.
“The political bureau can change, replace, remove and/or add names. They can add members of the KDP’s leadership council, but the list cannot exceed 30 names,” he told Rudaw.
January 9 is the deadline for candidates to register for the parliamentary elections in late April.
KDP officials do not believe they will win 30 seats. “We are expecting 25 to 27 seats in the coming elections.” a senior official in the KDP’s elections office told Rudaw.
According to the Iraqi Elections Law all three Kurdish provinces -- Erbil, Sulaimani and Dohuk - will have 54 representatives in the parliament. Erbil will have 15, Sulaimani 18 and Duhok 11.
The Election Commission has authorized the political parties to nominate two candidates for each seat.
A member of the KDP’s leadership council said his party is seriously planning to win more seats in Erbil. “KDP is the ruling party, therefore it cannot be weak in the capital.”
Meanwhile, the opposition Change Movement (Gorran), is predicting an increase in the number of its seats. Aram Shiekh Muhammed, the Director of Gorran’s Election Office, believes that his party will win 10 seats, following its victory in the September elections.
“Now, Gorran is in a strong position. It recently held its convention successfully, and it managed to change its programs. Gorran’s code of conduct was approved, and all these make Gorran stronger,” he said.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which lost its place as Kurdistan’s second-largest party to Gorran in the Kurdistan polls in September, is also determined to go all out in its next election bid.
“We will do all we can for this election,” said Arez Abdullah, who will head PUK’s list in Erbil.
Rizgar Ali, a member of the PUK political bureau, told Rudaw that, “We have not finalized our list for the Iraqi parliament’s elections. We will not rush it.”
Besides the Iraqi parliamentary elections, the Kurdistan political parties are preparing for the Kurdistan provincial elections, which are to take place simultaneously with the Iraqi parliamentary polls.
On January 5, KDP members met in Erbil to decide on the party’s list of names. But the meeting concluded without an agreement.
“In the next two days we will meet again and prepare the final list,” said Najar, from the KDP.
According to information obtained by Rudaw, KDP’s political bureau has agreed to nominate Pishtiwan Sadiq for the Erbil governor’s post.
The current governor, Nawzad Hadi, told Rudaw that he would not run again for his current post. “I do not know if I will stay in my current position. This is something for the KDP’s political bureau to decide.”
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