“It is not certain that having one list will get you more seats, whether for the Iraqi parliament or provincial councils,” Ali Qalayi, head of the Kirkuk and Salahaddin elections offices for the PUK, told Rudaw’s Hiwa Jamal.
He explained that a joint list between the PUK and KDP is not hindered by disagreements but rather technicalities.
“The issue is technical, fundamentally, there are no problems,” he said, adding that “there are no disagreements on this issue.”
Iraq is scheduled to hold its parliamentary elections on November 11. On Sunday, Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, from the PUK, announced that his party and the KDP will contest the elections separately.
“What is important and completes having multiple lists, is to do it with agreements,” he said.
Qalayi emphasized that from a technical standpoint, running on a single Kurdish list is disadvantageous. “We studied the law closely, analyzed and discussed it thoroughly, and then reached this conclusion.”
Under the current electoral law, one list puts Kurds at a disadvantage, and a “middle list” that is “neither too big nor too small” is preferable, according to Qalayi.
“What is important is to have multiple lists with agreements,” he stressed.
The Kurdistan Region held delayed parliamentary elections in October, with the KDP emerging as the largest party, securing 39 seats in the 100-member legislature. The PUK came in second with 23 seats. As no party won a majority, a coalition government will need to be formed, as has traditionally been the case.
Meanwhile, Kurdish opposition parties have been working since early May to form a united front ahead of the Iraqi legislative elections, seemingly in a bid to challenge the Kurdish ruling parties at the federal level. However, divisions have emerged within their ranks.
