ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — June 10 marks the first anniversary of Nechirvan Barzani assuming office as president of the Kurdistan Region. As he enters his second year as leader, people across the Kurdistan Region have urged the president to cultivate unity among rival political parties.
"Mr. Nechirvan Barzani is a person who is respected and the parties listen to him as he is level-headed. I want him to return to the [political] arena and help end the sensitivities and issues between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)," Ismael Barzanji, a writer in Erbil told Rudaw on Tuesday. "His top aim should be to build peace in Kurdistan."
Mala Mustafa Hassan, an elderly tailor in Erbil has one demand; "I want him only to do one thing for Kurds; I want him to put an end to the competition between the KDP and PUK."
"I want him to end party-based rivalries," Hassan added. "Kurdistan no longer needs political parties, but Kurdish spirit."
President Barzani is known for his strong relationship with almost all of the political parties across the spectrum in the Kurdistan Region and beyond, something the public believes could be useful to thaw the ice between the ruling KDP and the PUK, which are locked in a political stalemate since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the Region.
Tensions have been particularly high between the two sides since Soran Omar, a Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) MP was controversially stripped of parliamentary immunity in early May , allowing Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to sue him for libelous statements submitted to the parliament. The PUK was strongly against the vote.
Additionally, when the KRG imposed coronavirus lockdown measures in early March, the government deployed a Peshmerga unit under a KDP commander to secure an area of northern Erbil called Zini Warte used by people smugglers to evade movement restrictions, resulting in renewed political gridlock between the KDP and PUK.
Accusing the KDP of attempting a land grab, the PUK deployed its own Peshmerga unit to secure the territory. Complicating matters further, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) also deployed its fighters to the area, which lies near its Mount Qandil base. For more than two months the forces had been locked in a standoff initiating a war of words among the KDP and PUK cadres and supporters as well as leaders on social media.
Both the KDP and PUK, along with their affiliated security forces, dominate their own respective spheres of geographical and economic influence inside the Kurdistan Region – a remnant of the brutal civil war of the 1990s. They have since worked together to govern the autonomous Region.
Relations took a turn for the worse after Duhok Governor Farhad Atrushi, a KDP member, accused the PUK, New Generation and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) of being behind a demonstration held by teachers, journalists and civil servants in mid-May against the government's failure to pay public sector salaries on time. The parties categorically rejected Atrushi's claims, describing his comments as attempts to further strain already cold relations.
The row has created new and deeper schisms between the Kurdistan Region's parties, and could undermine their collective clout in upcoming battles with the Iraqi federal government over oil sales, the budget, and territorial disputes unless the KDP and PUK - the largest two parties in the Region - thaw the ice.
Aurung Sheikh Ali, a notary in Erbil described President Barzani as a "diplomatic" person who enjoys a "wide range of relationships with political parties.”
"I urge him to help build peace across all political parties," she added.
Qadir Mohammed, a university professor says he expects Barzani to "work more actively on a local and international level.”
Unlike Iraq, where the president's powers are merely ceremonial, the powers of the Kurdistan Region president count for a lot. He holds the highest executive authority and is commander-in-chief of all armed forces.
Since the establishment of the new Iraq from 2003-2005, the KDP has held the post of the Kurdistan Region presidency, while the PUK has taken the Iraqi presidency.
Barzani has held the PM position twice: from 2006 to 2009 and from 2012 to 2019.
"During the one year in office, he has resolved the issues in a diplomatic way," university student Harem Jalil said from Sulaimani.
Student Hawkar Jabbar believes that the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region under President Barzani's rule has been "an umbrella to mobilize all the parties across the spectrum."
Bahroz Sabah, also a student, echoed the sentiment that Barzani has acted in a "lenient" way and believes more is left for the president to do "to bring the rival parties closer.
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