Lawyers volunteer to defend voters from coercion in Kurdistan election

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A group of lawyers from four political parties announced on Thursday that, in order to ensure voting is free and fair, they are volunteering their services for voters who face intimidation in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election.

The lawyers come from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), the Change Movement (Gorran), and the People’s Front (Baray Gal), Ali Grdasory told reporters outside a courthouse in Erbil.

One of the lawyers, Zana Rostayi, who is also a member of Kurdistan’s MPs union, told Rudaw that they will accept complaints from voters facing pressure.

“If they deem it proper to take legal action, we are ready to defend them,” he said.

Rostayi acknowledged that the lawyers have political affiliations, but said that will not impact their work. “We will defend all voters without discrimination,” he said.

Sardar Harki, another lawyer, said that they decided to offer their services because the government had not done enough to protect voters from coercion.

“Pressure [tactics] have begun and voting cards have been bought from voters,” he said.

Harki said their goal is to prevent electoral fraud and ensure that voters can cast their ballots freely. Any complaints they receive, they will present to the electoral judiciary.

Nearly 2.9 million people are eligible to vote in the elections scheduled for October 20.

The IHEC has a mechanism for voters and political parties to make complaints throughout the election process, but they have welcomed the lawyers’ initiative.

It is "a good step," IHEC spokesperson, Jumana al-Ghalai, told Rudaw on Thursday.

The United States will send a team of 103 observers and US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that Washington is coordinating with Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.

 

Bashar Aziz contributed to this report.