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Kurdish party: 2 seats we won during Iraq election were taken from us

December 1, 2021 at 3:16 pm

Supporters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) celebrate with the KDP party flags during Iraq’s parliamentary election in Arbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, on October 10, 2021 [SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images]

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, yesterday said it was objecting to the final results of the parliamentary elections which were held on 10 October.

“After the announcement of the final election results, it became clear to us that two deserved seats legally entitled to two candidates from our party were taken away in Erbil and Nineveh provinces,” said KDP Spokesperson Mahmood Mohammed in a statement.

Mohammed noted that the KDP’s political bureau would hold a meeting to “discuss this illegal act.”

There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC)  on the KDP’s claims.

According to the final results announced by the IHEC, the Sadrist Movement appeared in the lead with 73 seats, while the Sunni alliance known as Taqaddum (Progress) and headed by outgoing Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi, came in second with 37 seats.

The State of Law Coalition, headed by former prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki, came third with 33 seats, while the KDP, headed by the Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, came in fourth place with 31 seats. The rest of the seats were distributed among other coalitions, independents, and religious and national minorities.

Since October, Iraq has been experiencing political tensions, with armed Shiite factions rejecting the election results, claiming they were “fabricated” and demanding a manual recount of the votes.

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