Kurdish Islamic party decides to stay in KRG, sets conditions

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – After days of meetings, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the largest Islamic party in the Kurdistan Region, on Sunday decided to stay in the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) current cabinet, but only under specific conditions.

The recent violent protests and economic crisis in the Kurdistan Region have led some parties in the government to reconsider their presence in the current KRG cabinet.

Last week, both Gorran (Change) party, which has 24 seats out of the Kurdistan Parliament’s 111 seats, along with the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), which has six seats, decided to withdraw from the KRG following the protests in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces.

Following two days of meetings, the KIU, which has 10 seats in the Kurdistan Parliament, said they would remain in the current government but only under certain conditions.

During a press conference, the KIU asked that the KRG pay the salaries of public employees and “develop the livelihood” of people in the Kurdistan Region.

In the meeting, the KIU decided to form a committee in the Kurdistan Parliament to investigate the protests and incidents in Sulaimani Province and bring those to justice who used violence during the demonstrations as well as the freeing of innocent people who were arrested.

The party also asked the KRG to respond to the demands of demonstrators “by paying their salaries on time and enhancing their livelihood by providing more services.”

The KIU called for the end of military presence in cities, adding it would “make the situation more complicated.” The Islamic party also rejected the “silencing” of any free press outside of the law.

The party noted that they would meet with citizens of Kurdistan and hand over their demands to the KRG, giving the government about 18 days (Jan. 15) to implement them.

“The KIU will make a decisive decision if the government fails to implement their demands during the set period,” the statement read.

Some political analysts on social media labeled the withdrawal of certain parties in the aftermath of the protests and the ongoing crisis in Kurdistan as propaganda for upcoming elections which the government has said would be held in the next three months.

Demonstrations took place last week in some towns in the Kurdistan Region but quickly turned violent as rioters burned party and government offices.

The protesters complained about salary delays, the lack of public services, and corruption within the government.

The Kurdistan Region has been suffering from an economic crisis since the beginning of 2014. The crisis worsened following the attack and takeover of Kirkuk Province, which contains major oilfields, and other disputed territories by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militias.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany