ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s election body has rejected the ‘Kirkuk is Kurdistani’ name for a joint list of Kurdish parties formed earlier this month to run in the upcoming provincial elections, on the grounds that it could trigger further ethnic and political tension in the disputed territory.
All political parties in the Kurdistan Region agreed on September 9 to run under the ‘Kirkuk is Kurdistani’ banner in Iraq’s upcoming provincial elections, scheduled for April 1, 2020.
Rizgar Haji Hama, deputy head of the Iraqi elections body, told Rudaw on Wednesday that the list name would need revision for fear that it could stoke tensions.
“We will advise them to change the name. The problem is not that the word Kurdistani comes before or after, the idea should be changed. For example, instead of Kirkuk is Kurdistani, they could say Kurdistani List of Kirkuk or the Kurdistani Coalition."
"The name of any list and entity set to run for the election will have to abide by the commission regulations and laws and it should not mean to trigger national, sectarian, political and social issues," Hama explained, adding that no coalition has officially submitted their names to the commission.
Kirkuk is one of the territories disputed by federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. The city and province has a mix of Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, and Christian inhabitants. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein forcibly moved people to and from Kirkuk and the surrounding areas during his reign, further exacerbating tensions.
Now aware of the commission’s concerns, list member parties have decided to discuss the matter at their next meeting.
"We have not yet legally submitted the name of our list. We are trying to pick a name that serves the people of Kirkuk and its components," Hakim Ubeid, head of the Change Movement (Gorran) office in Kirkuk said.
Dispute between its different ethnic and religious groups has meant Kirkuk has not had a provincial council election since 2005, when Kurds won 26 out of 41 provincial council seats by running on the joint Kurdistan Brotherhood List that also included some Turkmen parties.
When the 'Kirkuk is Kurdistani' list’s formation was announced, participating parties stressed the need for peace between Kirkuk’s communities.
Residents of the Kurdistan neighborhood in Kirkuk believe the Kurdish parties should not alter the list name to exclude Kurdistan.
"We are all of the view that the name of our list must contain Kurds or Kurdistan," said a resident, with another suggesting for the name to be changed to "the United Kurdistani List."
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