ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three ministers from the Change Movement (Gorran) and Sulaimani’s governor have announced their resignations following the party’s decision to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday.
Governor Haval Abubakir requested to be relieved from his position in a statement on Facebook on Friday, stating he would continue his “duties as an independent and technocratic person" until his resignation is accepted.
The party’s acting general coordinator, Dana Ahmed Majid, said the movement’s withdrawal from the government was late but was the right decision, adding that the party would return to its principles and founder’s original reformist plans.
The Finance Minister, Awat Sheikh Janab, “decided to resign and abide by the decision of the Gorran Movement,” Rebaz Abbas, the head of the minister’s office, told Rudaw.
Social Affairs Minister Kwestan Mohammed said she is committed to her party’s decision and will submit a letter of resignation to the Kurdistan Region president next week.
The third minister resigning from the cabinet in a row is Kamal Muslim, who served as minister of trade. He affirmed his resignation, saying, “I will abide by the decision of the Gorran Movement.”
In the current KRG cabinet, Gorran holds four ministries: labour and social affairs, construction and housing, finance and economy, and trade and industry. Members of the movement also hold one of the Kurdistan Region’s vice presidency positions and the governor’s position of Sulaimani.
Since its founder’s passing, the movement has suffered internal disputes over who should lead the party. In September, the then-leader, Omar Sayyid Ali, was banned from entering the movement’s headquarters in Sulaimani. He relinquished the role to the party’s current acting coordinator, Dana Ahmed Majid.
Since then, Majid has remained the acting coordinator. The movement’s highest body, along with the sons of the founder, opposed his appointment to the position.
Once a major opposition force that won 25 seats in the 2009 regional parliamentary elections, Gorran lost popularity through several unpopular decisions, including alliances with two ruling parties and failing to win any seats in Iraq's 2021 parliamentary elections.
Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report.
