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Nawshirwan's Change List may win majority
in some towns and districts
29.6.2009 |
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June
29, 2009
SULAIMANIYAH,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — Salam Abdulla, the head
of the Fourth (Sulaimaniyah) Branch of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP), tells Rudaw that The
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK and the Kurdistan
Democratic Party KDP have far more supports than the
Change List and he expect their list, The Kurdistani
List, to win the elections in Sulaimaniyah province.
The
Change "Goran"
List, was formed by PUK’s former second in
command, Nawshirwan Mustafa
 .
Q: What is your
prediction about the results of the elections in
Sulaimaniyah and Garmian area, which have an
estimated of more than one million voters?
Abdulla: We, the
Kurdistani List, expect to win the majority but the
results would be decided on which list the voters
will choose (on the elections day).
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Salam Abdulla, the head of the Fourth (Sulaimaniyah)
Branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) |
Q: How many seats do you expect to
win?
Abdulla: We
cannot estimate the number because the elections
depend on the decision of the individuals.
Q: Why the
election campaigns in Sulaimaniyah is more active
than all the other areas?
Abdulla: …the
people of Sulaimaniyah pay more attention to
politics... Therefore, it is normal that people are
more enthusiastic for the election and campaigns.
Q: In your
opinion in Sulaimaniyah what are the rival lists?
Abdulla: The
Kurdistani List so far has two clear competitors;
the Change List and the (Reform and Service) List.
Q: In the
provincial elections of Sulaimaniyah and Garmian the
KDP came after the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
and the Islamic Union of Kurdistan. Does the KDP
have more supporters in Sulaimaniyah now?
Abdulla: This
was because then the KDP had just returned g to
Sulaimaniyah. Perhaps in the past there were many
people who could not vote freely. But this time the
situation is different. Now the KDP functions freely
in this area. According to the surveys we have
conducted our supporters in the area have increased,
so the KDP will win more votes.
Q: Do you think
that the people in Sulaimaniyah will vote to Massoud
Barzani in the presidential elections?
Abdulla: We hope
that they will vote with the same enthusiasm of the
revolution times and vote to Barzani. The PUK and
its secretary general,www.ekurd.net
Jalal Talabani, support
Barzani. We expect most people will vote to him.
Besides, Barzani's rivals cannot beat him as he is a
seasoned leader from a known family in the history
of Kurds.
Q: Some say that
apart from the supporters of the Change List, not
all the members and supporters of he will vote to
Barzani. What is your opinion on that?
Abdulla: I hope
this is not true. But if it is going to happen, the
supporters of the PUK have disobeyed the statement
and the request of the Secretary General of their
party and they have not respected the strategic
agreement between the PUK and the KDP. But I predict
that all members and supporters of PUK will vote to
Barzani.
Q: But after the
elections could you know if the members of the PUK
didn’t vote for Barzani?
Abdulla: Of
course, this will be clear after the elections
because both parties know how many members they
have. Then by comparing the number of those who have
voted to Barzani and the total number of the members
we can tell how many of them have not voted to him.
Q: If this
happens, will the PUK and the KDP do anything about
it?
Abdulla: The two
parties should review the (strategic) agreement. It
depends on the parties themselves how they deal with
it.
Q: Recently
Barzani paid a visit to Sulaimaniyah. But people
complained that he didn’t visit the districts around
the city and also the Garmian area.
Abdulla: Maybe
it was not scheduled for him to visit all the areas.
Otherwise, Barzani likes to visit all parts of
Kurdistan.
Q: According to
news reports you recently visited Nawshirwan
Mustafa, the head of the Change List. What was the
reason of your visit?
Abdulla: We have
been friends since we were Peshmargas. People from
two different lists can still be friends.
Q: But it is
said that you had taken a message from Barzani to
Mustafa so that he will not stop writing about the
Kurdish civil war.
Abdulla: I
didn’t take any message from Barzani to Mustafa.
Q: The Change
List says that they will win the majority of the
cotes in Sulaimaniyah province; so the question is
who will get the second place.
Abdulla: This is
their opinion. But as far as I know the PUK and the
KDP have far more supporters than the Change List in
Sulaimaniyah.
Q: In your
opinion are the votes that the Change List might get
going to be e mostly from the PUK supporters or the
KDP supporters will vote to them too?
Abdulla:
Definitely, there are people within the KDP (who
will vote for the Change List) but I don't think
that their number may affect the (results)
elections.
Q: There are an
estimated of 200,000 eligible voters in Garmian, but
there is only one person being nominated from the
area in the Kurdistani List, do you think that the
voters in Garmian will vote to your list?
Abdulla: I don't
see any reason for why they should not vote to the
Kurdistani List… they are familiar with the KDP and
the party is known in the area.
Q: Then why
there is only one candidate for that area?
Abdulla: This is
the decision of the leadership of the party how many
candidates it assigns for some area. What is
important is that the list should win. If the
Kurdistani List wins, the victory is not only for
the PUK and the KDP but for all the people of
Kurdistan. This is not a time speaking out about the
differences and our loyalty to the different areas
of Kurdistan because we face (bigger) issues with
Baghdad and we should be united in demanding our
rights.
Q: Since the
start of the disputes within the PUK (a few years
ago),www.ekurd.net
people expected that the
KDP would take advantage from the situation for its
own interest and it would run for the elections in a
separate list from PUK. Why it didn’t happen?
Abdulla: Between
the party interest and the interest of the nation,
KDP gives priority to the latter. The KDP has not
taken advantage of this situation for its interest.
On the contrary it has tried hard with the PUK to
solve their issues… Moreover, there are greater
issues to be considered such as working to obtain
our constitutional rights and protecting our
achievements.
Q: A while ago
some of the KDP's officials made different
statements concerning the strategic agreement
between PUK and KDP, looking at it with suspicion.
They said KDP will reconsider the agreement if PUK
cadres vote to the Change List.
Abdulla: We have
a leadership and this leadership has signed the
agreement. If there is something to be done, it is
not our task because the leadership should address
it.
Q: Some of the
leaders of the Change List and other associates say
that the July election will bring about huge changes
in the politics of Kurdistan, do you support that
view?
Abdulla: I don't
think there will be enormous changes. But some lists
may win some seats in the parliament and we are
happy to have opposition and different views in the
parliament. The parliament is expected to witness
some change but not as great as the expectation of
the other lists.
Q: What list is
the main rival for Kurdistani List: the Change List
or the Reform and Service List?
Abdulla: I
cannot tell if the Change List can beat the list of
the four parties (the Reform and Service List)…I
think that neither of them can be a strong rival of
the Kurdistani List. However,www.ekurd.net
it is possible for both
of them to win in some towns and districts.
[E]
Nawshirwan Mustafa, a former deputy leader and co-founder of PUK plans to head a political
group of independents called "Change" in the
region's upcoming parliamentary elections. He left Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan party (PUK)
in December 2006,www.ekurd.net
now owns a powerful media company, Wisha, the
company, which includes a television station,
newspaper and website, is now independent and highly
critical of local leaders.
The Independent High
Electoral Commission (IHEC) has set July 25 as the
date for parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan
region. The elections will coincide with the
presidential polls.
A total of 507 candidates from several political
blocs and five alliances are competing for 111 seats
in the upcoming parliamentary polls.
Parliamentary polls in the region were scheduled to
be held on May 19,www.ekurd.net
but were postponed due
to the Parliament’s endorsement of the amended law
on elections.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
Rudaw net | Agencies
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