ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The upcoming Iranian elections are undemocratic and not free, Kurdish parties in Iran have stated, adding that they are united in the opinion that Kurds should boycott the vote.
“We discussed this question in detail. The opinions were very close to one another. They were almost the same. We all argued that this so-called election is happening in very undemocratic conditions. We can in no way call this a free election,” said Ibrahim Alizadeh, secretary general of Komala, the Kurdish communist party in Iran.
“Hence, it is better for the people of Kurdistan not to participate in the show which takes place on May 19. This was the opinion of all parties.”
Alizadeh said the parties will continue their discussions to determine specifics and will issue a joint statement on the matter within two weeks.
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) tweeted that they were urging Kurds to boycott the “undemocratic election.”
Kurdish groups in Iran are increasing their cooperation with each other. In March Umar Alikhanzada of Komala told Rudaw that the six main Kurdish groups in Iran had met to develop “cooperation among the six parties aimed at joint military activities.”
Iran’s twelfth presidential elections are scheduled to be held on May 19. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in March he would confront anyone trying to interfere in the election, in which conservative hardliners will try to defeat the moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani.
The Iranian president has in the past stated that his government will work for broader national and religious rights in the country including in the Kurdish regions.
Critics however have accused the president of sidelining the largely impoverished Kurdish areas in the government’s fiscal planning. According to official data, the unemployment rates in Kurdish areas are considerably higher than the rest of the country.
“We discussed this question in detail. The opinions were very close to one another. They were almost the same. We all argued that this so-called election is happening in very undemocratic conditions. We can in no way call this a free election,” said Ibrahim Alizadeh, secretary general of Komala, the Kurdish communist party in Iran.
“Hence, it is better for the people of Kurdistan not to participate in the show which takes place on May 19. This was the opinion of all parties.”
Alizadeh said the parties will continue their discussions to determine specifics and will issue a joint statement on the matter within two weeks.
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) tweeted that they were urging Kurds to boycott the “undemocratic election.”
Six Kurdish political parties urged the Kurdish people in eastern Kurdistan to boycott the undemocratic election in #Iran. #Twitterkurds pic.twitter.com/thUduLBVNY
— PDKI (@PDKIenglish) April 6, 2017
Kurdish groups in Iran are increasing their cooperation with each other. In March Umar Alikhanzada of Komala told Rudaw that the six main Kurdish groups in Iran had met to develop “cooperation among the six parties aimed at joint military activities.”
Iran’s twelfth presidential elections are scheduled to be held on May 19. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in March he would confront anyone trying to interfere in the election, in which conservative hardliners will try to defeat the moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani.
The Iranian president has in the past stated that his government will work for broader national and religious rights in the country including in the Kurdish regions.
Critics however have accused the president of sidelining the largely impoverished Kurdish areas in the government’s fiscal planning. According to official data, the unemployment rates in Kurdish areas are considerably higher than the rest of the country.
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