Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

June 17, 2009

Iraq Kurdistan: Parliamentary Slate Takes Shape

Political parties prepare for July 2009 elections. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, announce plans to run on a unified ticket.

Below is an article published by Middle East Times:

Registration forms in Iraqi Kurdistan were finalized by the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq for the July 25 [2009] vote in the Kurdish Parliament.

Iraq voted in January [2009] for councils for 14 of the 18 provinces. The three Kurdish provinces -- Erbil, Dahuk and Sulaimaniya -- will hold council elections in January [2010], while parliamentary elections are slated for July 25 [2009].

The province of Kirkuk is given special consideration as the vote there is postponed indefinitely while officials hammer out administrative disputes.

Handren Muhamad, who heads the IHEC offices in Erbil province, said hundreds of thousands of voters had verified their eligibility for the July 25 [2009] contest, the Kurdish Globe reports.

Similar accounts were reported in Dahuk and Sulaimaniya.

IHEC officials said there are 509 candidates from several parties and alliances competing for the 111 available seats in the Kurdish Parliament. Minority groups were allocated 11 seats before the vote in line with a quota system.

Four candidates -- Kamal Mirawdali, Hussein Garmiyani, Safeen Ahmed, and Halo Ibrahim Ahmed -- are challenging Massoud Barzani for the presidency of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq.