Kurdistan Coalition campaigns in Garmiyan as competition heats up
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The head of the Kurdistan Coalition on Wednesday said they aim to “restore the power balance” in the Kurdistan Region, speaking during a campaign rally in the Garmiyan administration.
“Today, we frankly tell you that one of the main aims of the Kurdistan Coalition is to restore the power balance in Kurdistan,” Qubad Talabani told supporters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Change Movement (Gorran).
Democracy and freedom “will be threatened, if the power balance is not brought back,” he said. Talabani is also deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Coalition is an electoral alliance of the PUK and Gorran who have had a rocky relationship competing for votes in Sulaimani. In early May, they announced that they would join forces for Iraq’s parliamentary elections.
Gorran was founded in 2009 by a breakaway group of PUK members disgruntled with the parent party’s politics. For many supporters of both parties, the coalition announcement was a long-awaited reunion. Its main campaign promises are economic and security stability, better services, and salaries.
Campaigning for Iraq’s October 10 election has largely been lackluster, but the competition between the Kurdish parties is heating up as voting day nears.
Senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Nechirvan Barzani, who is also president of the Kurdistan Region, in a campaign event on Sunday said the KDP is “the only political party that is taken seriously” in the Region. His comment sparked rage among PUK members.
“Any party that doesn’t address and take the PUK seriously, the PUK will not address them or take them seriously,” said PUK member and parliament speaker Rewaz Faiaq.
Talabani also responded to the KDP at the Garmiyan rally, saying the KDP is trying to “weaken the position of Kurdistan Coalition, PUK, and Gorran.”
The Kurdistan Region is split into territories controlled by the KDP and PUK. There were initial attempts to form a broad Kurdish coalition for the elections, but the parties failed to find common ground and, apart from the PUK and Gorran alliance, the other parties will contest the vote independently.
The KDP is fielding 51 candidates, including in a handful of southern and western Iraqi provinces, while the Kurdistan Coalition has 44 candidates across the country.
Cover photo: A crowd of supporters attend a Kurdistan Coalition campaign rally in Garmiyan on September 29, 2021. Photo: Kurdistan Coalition
“Today, we frankly tell you that one of the main aims of the Kurdistan Coalition is to restore the power balance in Kurdistan,” Qubad Talabani told supporters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Change Movement (Gorran).
Democracy and freedom “will be threatened, if the power balance is not brought back,” he said. Talabani is also deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Coalition is an electoral alliance of the PUK and Gorran who have had a rocky relationship competing for votes in Sulaimani. In early May, they announced that they would join forces for Iraq’s parliamentary elections.
Gorran was founded in 2009 by a breakaway group of PUK members disgruntled with the parent party’s politics. For many supporters of both parties, the coalition announcement was a long-awaited reunion. Its main campaign promises are economic and security stability, better services, and salaries.
Campaigning for Iraq’s October 10 election has largely been lackluster, but the competition between the Kurdish parties is heating up as voting day nears.
Senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Nechirvan Barzani, who is also president of the Kurdistan Region, in a campaign event on Sunday said the KDP is “the only political party that is taken seriously” in the Region. His comment sparked rage among PUK members.
“Any party that doesn’t address and take the PUK seriously, the PUK will not address them or take them seriously,” said PUK member and parliament speaker Rewaz Faiaq.
Talabani also responded to the KDP at the Garmiyan rally, saying the KDP is trying to “weaken the position of Kurdistan Coalition, PUK, and Gorran.”
The Kurdistan Region is split into territories controlled by the KDP and PUK. There were initial attempts to form a broad Kurdish coalition for the elections, but the parties failed to find common ground and, apart from the PUK and Gorran alliance, the other parties will contest the vote independently.
The KDP is fielding 51 candidates, including in a handful of southern and western Iraqi provinces, while the Kurdistan Coalition has 44 candidates across the country.
Cover photo: A crowd of supporters attend a Kurdistan Coalition campaign rally in Garmiyan on September 29, 2021. Photo: Kurdistan Coalition