ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which won the second-most seats in the Kurdistan Region’s last parliamentary election, launched its campaign on Sunday with party leader Bafel Talabani promising to change the nature of the Region’s leadership.
Speaking from Sulaimani Stadium, Talabani reassured the attendees that “the PUK is one solid force with one voice."
The PUK has lacked unified leadership since the death of Jalal Talabani in 2017, and the health of senior party members has left a lack of political cohesion, according to Talabani.
He acknowledged that the party has had its struggles, but now the PUK is united, focusing his speech on challenging the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The KDP and PUK hold the most positions within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Following years of wrangling over who would succeed the late Jalal Talabani, the former Iraqi president’s son, Bafel Talabani, and cousin Lahur Talabany were elected as the co-chairs of the PUK in February 2020.
Their internal issues surfaced in 2021, when Bafel Talabani changed the leadership of the party’s intelligence agency and counter-terrosim units, who were affiliated with Lahur Talabany, replacing them with people loyal to himself. Lahur Talabany was effectively ousted from power. He formed The People’s Front (Baray Gal) party in January.
Talabani criticized the current government saying Kurdistan is rich with natural and human resources, but its government has failed to provide satisfactory services, promising that his party will be the one which will restore basic services to the people of the Region.
Criticizing the election laws in the Region, the PUK leader said they were designed to benefit a specific party, but that has now changed.
In 2023, two politicians from the PUK and a Christian party in Sulaimani filed separate lawsuits challenging the Kurdistan Region’s election law concerning minority quota seats and the division of electoral constituencies.
In February, Iraq’s federal court ruled that Article 9, which designated the Kurdistan Region as a single electoral constituency, was "unconstitutional," resulting in the division of the Region into four constituencies.
Additionally, a Baghdad decision in May reduced the Kurdistan Region’s parliament seats from 111 to 100, lowering the minority quota seats from 11 to five.
The PUK was founded in 1975 after breaking away from the KDP. The two parties fought a long civil war in the 1990s before agreeing to share power in a united administration. They however both retain their own Peshmerga units and geographical areas of influence.
KDP leader Masoud Barzani launched the party’s election campaign in Erbil on Wednesday, calling for civil and respectful elections. Barzani expressed hope that the vote would create greater unity in the Kurdistan Region and lead to improved services for its people. He reiterated the unity of the KDP, emphasizing the party's commitment to the Region.
The Kurdistan Region last held elections in 2018. The upcoming elections, initially scheduled for 2022, have been delayed several times.
Official campaigning began on Wednesday and continues until October 15. The election is set to be held on October 20.
The electoral process has been mired in challenges, with interference from Baghdad exacerbating tensions between the Kurdistan Region’s political parties, particularly between the two parties.
Nearly 2.9 million people are eligible to vote, including around 215,000 early voters. There will be 1,400 polling stations, including locations in disputed areas and most Iraqi provinces, for eligible voters.
In the 2018 elections, KDP won 45 seats, the PUK secured 21, while the Change Movement (Gorran) took 12 seats, and smaller parties won less than ten seats.
Of the 11 minority seats in the Kurdistan Region's parliament, Turkmen candidates won five, Christians also secured five, and Armenians took one.
Updated at 11:32 p.m.
