KDP President asks for Kurds’ unity in Baghdad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani delivered a speech on Monday during a meeting with his party’s candidates where he addressed Iraq’s political climate pre, and post-referendum, thanking the Peshmerga forces and the people of Kurdistan for their perseverance in these difficult times.

Barzani also expressed his gratitude to all members, supporters, and top officials of the KDP for their ardent participation in the efforts to achieve victory in the Iraqi parliamentary elections conducted on May 12.

He expressed that the KDP “was not established to oppose other parties but to defend the rights of the people of Kurdistan.”

“The people must not be oppressed as their representatives are thinking of position, power, and income,” Barzani continued, noting that the KDP MPs objectives in Baghdad “must be to fight for the higher causes of their people [Kurds].”

“We must avoid becoming conceited when we succeed, and not despair when we fail.”

In his speech, the KDP leader criticized the conduct of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) during the elections.

He pointed out that the rights of the Yezidis were violated as their votes were not counted and claimed this was done in an attempt to prevent the KDP from gaining a majority vote in Nineveh Province.

In a statement released on Sunday following a meeting held between the members of the Leadership Council, the KDP said it had “been proven that the IHEC was not successful in its duties and could not prevent fraud.”

The KDP came in second in Nineveh with six seats, trailing incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s al-Nasr (Victory) Coalition which received seven seats.

Barzani asked the Kurdish entities to unify under a single banner in Iraq’s political process and emphasized the need for the principles of consensus, unity, and balance among the constituents of the Iraqi government.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany