Politics

PUK apologizes to Gorran for firing at its headquarters on election day

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Tuesday officially apologized to the Gorran (Change) movement for the shooting that targeted the party’s main offices in Sulaimani on the night of Iraq's parliamentary elections over vote-rigging allegations.

Sangar Ali 2018/08/21 15:55

kurdistan Kurdistan Iraq PUK Gorran Sulaimani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Tuesday officially apologized to the Gorran (Change) movement for the shooting that targeted the party’s main offices in Sulaimani on the night of Iraq's parliamentary elections over vote-rigging allegations.

Following the national election on May 12, gunmen opened fire at Gorran's Sulaimani provincial headquarters as four main parties met over reports of election fraud. The party’s official TV channel, KNN, directly accused the PUK of the attack, stating the order for the shooting came from senior PUK leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi.

The shooting caused no casualties, but damaged the offices and deepened tensions between the two Sulaimani-based parties.

“We apologize and ask for forgiveness from the Gorran Movement for any incidents that occurred not part of official decisions of the PUK concerning them, especially the incident that took place on the night of the previous Iraqi election due to the general subject of vote counting,” read a PUK statement released on the holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The PUK also mentioned that the message comes from their sense of responsibility regarding the future of the Kurdistan Region and of resolving its political, economic, and social issues. The party also stated that they look forward to such a stance from all political parties in the Kurdistan Region, given the current state of Iraq.

Currently, the PUK is the third largest party in the Kurdistan Region with 18 seats in the Kurdistan regional parliament, following the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which won 38 seats, and Gorran, with 24. It has been suffering from internal turmoil over the past few years and is being criticized for lack of unified decision-making among its leaders.

The statement comes at a time when the leading political groups in the Kurdistan Region are aiming to create a unified front among all other Kurdish parties to face Baghdad in negotiations about posts they might take in the next Iraqi cabinet.

Editing by John J. Catherine