Kurdish opposition leaders voice cautious optimism as Iraq votes

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Leaders of Kurdish opposition parties on Tuesday expressed cautious optimism about the outcomes of Iraq’s legislative elections, saying that while their participation in the next government will depend on the results, transparency and public trust in the electoral process are pivotal.

“People are in for a surprise tonight after the ballot count begins,” said Ali Hama Saleh, head of the National Stance Movement (Halwest), told Rudaw.

Referencing his party’s competition with the Kurdistan Region’s main ruling parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Saleh said, “Tonight people will see [the surprise from] a party that campaigned through mobile phones, competing with two very large parties.”

Polling stations officially opened across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region at 7 am local time on Tuesday. Electoral campaigning, which began on October 3, continued until November 8, when the electoral silence period kicked in.

During the campaign period, the Saleh-led Halwest movement opted to focus on social media to garner support. “If we obtain a good number of seats, we will participate in the Iraqi government, God willing, for one reason: so that the [Iraqi] Council of Ministers is not left only for the PUK and the KDP,” he said.

In the Iraqi legislative ballot, Halwest is fielding 12 candidates in Erbil, 16 in the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province, and four in the northern Duhok province.

“We will participate in the [federal] government, but we will not enter into any alliance with the KDP and PUK in Baghdad. We will go and negotiate [with political forces] alone,” Saleh vowed.

The Halwest leader further added that other Kurdish parties must also be assigned ministerial portfolios in the central government to pursue the Kurdistan Region’s oil interests and “to defend” the rights of its civil servants and farmers, as well as “hundreds of other issues.”

Islamic parties

Salahaddin Bahaaddin, secretary-general of another opposition party, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), told Rudaw that whether his party joins the Iraqi government or remains a Kurdish opposition group “depends on the results of the [Iraqi federal] election and the number of seats we obtain” in the Iraqi parliament.

The KIU is the largest Islamic party in the Kurdistan Region. It is fielding 16 candidates in Tuesday’s vote - five in each of Erbil, Duhok, and Sulaimani, as well as one in Kirkuk.

The party currently holds four seats in the Iraqi parliament.

The Kurdistan Region held delayed legislative elections in October 2024. The KDP came out on top, securing 39 spots in the 100-member legislature, while the PUK came in second with 23 seats. For its part, the KIU slightly increased its seats to seven, while choosing to remain in opposition.

As no single party won a majority in the October ballot, negotiations between the ruling KDP and PUK parties on forming a governing coalition have since been underway, but a government has yet to be formed. As a result, the Kurdish legislature has convened only once, in December, when lawmakers were sworn in.

Bahaaddin stated that regardless of what the government formation talks lead to, “We have decided on non-participation in the upcoming cabinet of the [Kurdistan Regional] Government [KRG]. This has not changed yet.” Nonetheless, the KIU leader expressed support for “the reactivation of the Kurdistan [Region’s] parliament.”

Meanwhile, Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) leader Ali Bapir on Tuesday issued a strong appeal for electoral integrity and national unity in Iraq’s legislative elections, warning against “manipulation” and interference in the vote.

Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot, Bapir expressed hope that “this time the elections will truly be clean, free from manipulation and interference. I hope that this will indeed be the case.”

He stressed that the resulting mandate must genuinely reflect the citizens’ will, cautioning “all those who have the power to interfere” against “tampering with the people’s will, so that the outcome truly reflects the wisdom and conviction of the citizens.”

Komal is the second-largest Islamist party after the KIU. It is fielding 14 candidates in the Kurdistan Region - five in Erbil, five in Sulaimani, and four in Duhok - but none in Kirkuk or Halabja.

The party previously held ministerial posts in the KRG. However, it has seen declining influence in recent years, winning one seat in Iraq’s 2021 elections and two in the Kurdistan Region’s 2024 vote.

Early voter turnout

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) reports that more than 21 million Iraqis are eligible to vote.

In total, 31 alliances, 38 political parties, 23 independent candidates, and 56 quota candidates are competing for 329 parliamentary seats, including nine reserved for minority groups.

At noon Tuesday, the IHEC reported preliminary figures from the first five hours of voting, showing an overall participation rate of 23.9 percent across the country’s 19 provinces.

In the Kurdistan Region, turnout was 28.93 percent in Erbil, 27.36 percent in Duhok, and 24.88 percent in Sulaimani.