Election candidates discuss achievements, concerns for Soran district

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Candidates in the Kurdistan Region's parliamentary elections discussed infrastructure projects and concerns over roads in the independent administration of Soran, a week ahead of the vote.

During Rudaw’s Chwar Bazna (Four Constituencies) program, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate Zubair Balak argued that while there have been recent infrastructure improvements in Soran, they are not sufficient.

"It is not enough for the level of sacrifices, endeavors, and efforts of the people," Balak said on Saturday during the program hosted by Sangar Abdulrahman.

A week ahead of the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election, candidates from four parties discussed Soran’s roads and its status as an administration, highlighting achievements, raising concerns, and outlining plans.

Of particular discussion was the main Soran-Choman road that Balak referred to as "the road of death.”

“If I am a representative… my projects will focus more on roads outside Soran city,” Balak said, adding that locals do not benefit from the road nor its traffic and nearby border crossings without political or personal connections.

Having won 21 seats in 2018, the PUK joined the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Change Movement (Gorran).

People’s Front (Baray Gal) candidate Rebaz Qani' Alanaii said emergency response times also are hampered by narrow, single-lane roads.

"We have programs to build highways between every city, district, and subdistrict," said the candidate from Baray Gal that was formed in January by ousted PUK leader Lahur Talabany.

Ahmed Surchi, a Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) candidate, questioned the transportation ministry's use of funds: "All the money that the transportation ministry receives… what is it spent on, if not for the roads of the area?”

Some areas in Soran either lack roads or have poor-quality ones which have been neglected, according to Surchi.  

KDP candidate Ahmad Mohammed Nouh described the establishment of Soran’s independent administration in 2021 as a significant achievement that has eased bureaucratic processes and benefited growth.

“Forming the independent administration of Soran and separating it from Erbil was one of our biggest achievements,” Nouh said.

In the 2018 election, the KDP won 45 out of 111 seats - the most by any party.

Nour detailed that 424 road projects have been undertaken in Soran by this cabinet and most have been completed. He argued the next government can complete ongoing projects.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani last month met with Soran supervisor Halgurd Sheikh Najib to discuss future initiatives aimed at enhancing the independent administration’s trade and tourism potential. 

Soran district had a population of more than 205,000 people, according to a report released in 2022 by the Kurdistan Region Office of Statistics. 

In Soran, years of conflict, neglect, and corruption have left roads in disrepair, with potholes, poor lighting, and substandard maintenance contributing to frequent car accidents.

A World Health Organization report in 2018 identified road traffic injuries as the leading cause of death for those aged 5 to 29 worldwide, with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region recording a traffic fatality rate of 20.7 per 100,000 people in 2016.