ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The second largest Islamist party in the Kurdistan Region focused on equalizing Kurdish civil sector salaries with those of Iraq and eliminating sectarianism from the armed forces in its campaign platform released on Thursday, less than a month ahead of the Iraqi parliamentary election.
The Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) works for "the implementation of Iraq's permanent constitution, especially certain articles that enshrine the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan nation in the fields of politics, economy, finance, culture, and administration," the party wrote in its platform, highlighting compliance with Article 2 of the constitution "to protect the position of the holy religion of Islam in the legislative process.”
Komal is the second largest Islamist party, after the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU). It is fielding 14 candidates for the November vote - five in Erbil, five in Sulaimani, and four in Duhok. The party does not have any candidates in Kirkuk or Halabja.
The Islamist party, which joined Kurdistan Regional Government cabinets several times in the past, has suffered recent political setbacks. In Iraq's 2021 legislative elections it won only one seat, and in last October's parliamentary elections of the Kurdistan Region it secured just two seats.
Komal was established by Ali Bapir, a longtime commander of the Islamic Movement in Kurdistan, an umbrella group of Islamic political forces formed in 1987. It sought territorial control of parts of the Kurdistan Region with the aim of implementing Islamic law (Sharia). In 2021, the party changed its name, dropping the word Islamic.
On the economy, Komal said that they will work to diversify revenue sources away from oil with a focus on agriculture, industry, and trade and will "determine an appropriate proportion of each Iraqi individual in the revenues from oil sales annually, and stabilize the Kurdistan Region's share in the general budget.”
It also said it would "equalize the salaries and allowances of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees with Iraq."
Komal pledged to “improve the economic conditions and livelihoods of the poor through public assistance, developing the capacity of the social protection network and building housing projects for the poor.”
Komal said that everyone in the country - Arabs, Kurds, and others - should be treated equally. "Citizenship should be a key principle for establishing a civil and institutional service state," it said.
The Kurdish Peshmerga forces are another focus of Komal’s agenda. "Reorganization of the Iraqi army on a national basis, away from sectarian basis, taking into account the rights of the Peshmerga forces within the framework of the Iraqi constitution," it said.
Campaigning for Iraq’s November elections began on October 3 and will continue until November 8. Security forces and special voters will cast their ballots on November 9, followed by the general election on November 11.
