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| Iraq |
| Six Kurdish parties consider withdrawing from Iraqi political process |
| 2018-05-19 |
| [Rudaw] ERBIL, Kurdistan Region ‐ After receiving no response to their calls for a manual recount or a full do-over of the election in the Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories because of reports of fraud, six Kurdish parties are contemplating pulling out of the political process. Gorran’s National Assembly "will next week discuss the party’s decision to withdraw from the political process," the party’s media announced on Friday. Gorran, the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), the Kurdistan Islamic League (Komal), the Kurdistan Communist Party, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement (IMK) have formed a united front as they protest "systematic and pre-planned fraud" in last Saturday’s parliamentary elections. The leadership of all six of the parties are contemplating withdrawing from the Iraqi political process. According to preliminary official results, the PUK won in Sulaimani and Kirkuk by a large margin. The election commission has so far rejected calls for a revote or a manual recount and has come under fire for allegations of violations. "We the six parties will not accept this result and will explore all options after being disappointed in the electoral commission. The body we have formed represents peoples’ objections too," said Irfan Abdulaziz, IMK leader, according to Gorran’s Sbeiy media. Mohammed Hakim, a member of Komal’s political council, said his party will also have a meeting in order to discuss withdrawal from the political process. Separately, New Generation has also contested the results, filing a lawsuit in Baghdad against Iraq's electoral commission on Monday. The KDP has backed a manual recount in Sulaimani. The PUK has asked for the results in Kirkuk to be approved. The election commission was expected to release final results 10pm local time on Friday, but pushed the announcement back by an hour. |
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