ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A leadership dispute within the Change Movement (Gorran) has escalated as the party’s two rival factions disagree over the timing and legitimacy of a planned congress, deepening internal divisions ahead of Iraqi elections expected to be held in October. Gorran has split into two factions - one headquartered on Zargata Hill and led by the sons of the party’s founder, the late Nawshirwan Mustafa, and the other based in Sulaimani’s Kurdsat neighborhood under the leadership of Dana Ahmed Majid, the acting general coordinator. On Wednesday, a letter from Haiman Tahsin, head of the political parties' affairs department at Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), to IHEC’s Sulaimani office confirmed that Gorran’s general committee had set April 5 as the date for the party’s congress, aligning with the Zargata faction’s plans. The Kurdsat faction criticized the decision, stating on Gorran’s official Facebook page on Thursday that “several people have issued a statement on behalf of the national assembly,” but said they are “a minority.” The national assembly is a senior body in the party’s structure. “This conference will be held at a time and place that is appropriate for the conduct of this organizational procedure. Preparations have been made for this purpose,” the statement added. The Zargata faction insists the congress will proceed as scheduled. “We have fixed the date of the congress. Those whose names are on the list can participate. If they do not participate, they are responsible,” Nizar Mahmood Salih, a member of Gorran’s national assembly, told Rudaw. Hoshyar Omar, head of Gorran's diplomatic relations from the Zargata faction, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Thursday that they “will take all legal, political, and organizational measures against the coup and deviation from the internal constitution of Gorran.” Gorran made history in 2009 by winning 25 seats in the Kurdistan Region’s 111-seat parliament as the first opposition party, campaigning on promises of deep reforms. It has, however, lost favor with voters after a series of unpopular decisions that included handing power to Mustafa’s sons after his death and forming agreements with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), moves seen as betraying its opposition and reformist roots. In Iraq’s 2021 parliamentary elections, Gorran failed to win a single seat. Following the defeat, all members of the party’s governing body, including then-leader Omar Sayyid Ali, resigned. In late September, Ali formally transferred the party's leadership to Majid. The ceremony was held in a park in Sulaimani rather than at the party's Zargata Hill headquarters, as Mustafa’s sons had blocked access in opposition to Majid’s appointment. Ten days ahead of the Kurdistan Region’s October 20 parliamentary elections, Majid announced the party's withdrawal from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and local governments. In that vote, Gorran took just one seat, while the KDP took 39 seats and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) took 23 seats.
