Iraq’s election fraudster

People or parties who have tampered with the result of the Iraqi parliamentary election in Sulaimani, Halabja and Garmiyan have negligently done the KDP a huge favor. 

From the beginning, the results appeared to have been rigged, although it is not clear yet whether the rigging took place inside or outside the Kurdistan Region. This has led to political parties in Sulaimani blaming one another. 

It is easy for the KDP to accept what happened in the PUK’s colorful zone, where they might lose only one or two seats. The KDP had already turned a blind eye on its two seats in Kirkuk. Sacrificing there made the PUK and Sulaimani parties confront each other. And now the parties in Sulaimani will have to pay the price for the PUK treason of October 16.

These parties were silent when the PUK committed treason and sold Kirkuk. Those in Sulaimani demanded the dissolution of the KRG at a time when KDP Peshmerga were being killed in Pirde, Talsqof and Sihela defending the honor of the Kurdish nation. 

This was while the Talabani and Hero Ibrahim Ahmed families were guiding Shiite forces toward the invasion of Erbil and Duhok. They were all excited that they could break the pride and dignity of the KDP, President Barzani, and could prevent Kurdistan’s independence. 

Instead of condemning the treason, the PUK blamed the KDP and the holding of the referendum. They ignored the treason. They deserve this loss.

The election was clean and transparent in KDP areas. The preliminary results show that the parties’ votes are an indication of their size and influence. Moreover, the KDP has no qualms with a manual recount of votes across Iraq. 

The vote counts which the PUK received in Erbil and Duhok are the real size of the party — in-line with the PUK’s performances in 2013 and 2014. People have left the PUK, yet preliminary results show an increase of 100 percent or more in many places in Kurdistan. It is likely that the Change Movement has lost some votes, but not to the extent shown in preliminary results. 

The Hero Ibrahim wing of the PUK claimed credit for this election victory before results were declared. The PUK even during Jalal Talabani leadership has been losing support since 1992. This time, they declared this victory under the leadership of Kosrat Rasul. But cousins Lahur Talabany and Bafel Talabani are the true winners of PUK’s internal equations, indicating an upper hand ahead of the delayed party congress.

It is the second time Baghdad and Tehran are saving the PUK from collapse. They had set trap for the KDP, but the KDP was smart enough to steep to the level of vote rigging. 

The PUK has won half of the votes and seats which the KDP has won. It is clear that it is the KDP is the party, not the PUK, that will kick start negotiations for the formation of the next government in Baghdad.