Autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan elects parliament amid disillusionment

Irbil, Iraqi Kurdistan — Amid disillusionment, residents of autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq voted Sunday to elect their deputies to the regional parliament, a legislative election once again dominated by the two main rival political clans.


Of the 6 million inhabitants of Kurdistan, 2.9 million voters were called to the polls to elect 100 deputies, including 30 women, under a quota.


The polls closed at 6 p.m. local time and official results are expected Monday evening, according to the commission. In the last regional legislative elections in 2018, turnout was 59%.


The two hegemonic formations for decades, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of the Barzani clan, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), of the Talabani clan, have held electoral meetings and mobilized their partisan networks.


But according to experts, a certain disenchantment has reigned among public opinion, in a gloomy economic context.


Houri Mohamed, 66, voted for the KDP, the party in power in Irbil, the regional capital, because it "serves the people," assures this housewife.


But she also hopes that the next government "will pay attention to the poor classes: the majority of our population has limited means" but it is these citizens who "always support" the government.


Autonomous since 1991, Kurdistan presents itself as an oasis of stability conducive to foreign investment in Iraq, a country with immense oil wealth.  


But activists and the opposition denounce, among other evils, corruption, a climate of profiteering, cronyism, and the repression of any dissenting voice.


The legislative elections were to be held two years ago. They were postponed four times, mainly due to differences between the KDP and the PUK.


Dissatisfied, angry


Political scientist Shivan Fazil recently pointed out "a growing weariness with the two parties" competing for power.


"Living conditions have deteriorated over the last decade," he explained to AFP.


Voters also criticized the erratic payment of salaries to the region's 1.2 million civil servants, a problem that also illustrates the standoff between Kurdistan and the federal government in Baghdad, with each side blaming the other for delays.


This year, four constituencies were created to replace the single constituency that previously covered the entire region and refine local representation.


This reform "could lead to a redistribution of votes and seats in the next Parliament," predicts Shivan Fazil. But the KDP "could still preserve its majority, thanks to its internal discipline and cohesion."


With 45 seats, the KDP enjoyed a relative majority in the outgoing parliament thanks to alliances with deputies elected via a quota reserved for Christian and Turkmen minorities.


Opposition parties such as ‘New Generation’ and a movement led by Lahur Sheikh Jangi, a dissident from the Talabani clan, may gain from a protest vote, said Sarteep Jawhar, a PUK dissident and political commentator.


"People are dissatisfied and angry because of rising prices and taxes, shortages of electricity and water," said opposition candidate Hiwa Hadi of the fledgling Halwest party.


Union government


Once elected, the deputies will vote to designate the successors of the president and prime minister of the autonomous region, Nechirvan and Masrour Barzani, cousins and figures of the KDP.


As in Baghdad, politics in Kurdistan oscillates between major decisions taken by consensus between the main decision-makers (KDP and PUK) and rivalries and dissensions, sources of deadlocks and blockages.


In Baghdad, Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani welcomed the "success" of the vote in the evening, "hoping" to see the "necessary conditions" for the formation of a new regional government, to support "development" and "stability."


On Sunday, President Nechirvan Barzani had hoped to "form a unity government as quickly as possible" after the elections.


The Kurdish parliament, which once had 111 members, has seen its number of seats reduced to 100 by a court decision. Five seats are reserved for minorities.


Mohamed al-Hassan, the United Nations special representative in Iraq, welcomed the election as an opportunity for the Kurdistan region to "reinvigorate democracy and inject new ideas into its institutions."


But 55-year-old teacher Sazan Saduala said she was boycotting the election.


“This government cannot be changed by voting,” she said. “It maintains its power through force and money.”