ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Change Movement (Gorran)'s National Council has decided to hold its national congress by December, according to attendees of a Saturday council meeting.
"We decided we will have to hold it [national conference] at the end of this year,” council member Chalaki Muhandis told Rudaw.
"We have also informed relevant administrative and legal offices, and the election and media offices of the party, to make preparations for the National Conference."
Gorran is considering hosting the conference on December 26 and 27, to honor the dates chosen by party founder Nawshirwan Mustafa for the party's National Conference in 2013, Rudaw learned from an anonymous source attending the meeting.
Saturday's meeting granted party leader Omer Saeed Ali deciding authority to appoint Gorran figures for the posts they have been given in the new regional government cabinet - vice president, prime minister's assistant for reform affairs, chief of staff of the Peshmerga Ministry and four deputy ministers, National Council member Karwan Hashim told Rudaw.
Ali, who has been the party's general coordinator (leader) since July 2017, had been granted sole deciding power to appoint cabinet ministers last month. Saturday’s meeting saw objection by eight of 50 National Council members to the continuation of this decision, according to the anonymous source.
Ali was set the task of submitting for cabinet the name of Region vice president, a choice between former Peshmerga minister Mustafa Saed Qadir, and Gorran co-founder Mohammed Tofiq Rahim, by the end of this week. Qadir is mostly likely to assume the role, the source added.
Gorran decided last week to hold elections for its executive body and the role of general coordinator on September 14 – a postponement from its planned July 25 date.
Gorran was founded in 2009 by Mustafa, who passed away in 2017. Running on a platform of political transparency and anti-corruption, the party quickly became the second biggest party in parliament, challenging the preeminence of the PUK in Sulaimani province.
Running a notably quieter campaign in the 2018 elections, it lost half of its Kurdistan parliamentary seats and its position as the second-largest party.
It has been blighted with internal conflict, with departing members making accusations of nepotism and a monopolization of power by party leaders. Its movement from the opposition to participation in the KRG has also been a contentious issue for party members.
Translated by Zhelwan Z. Wali
