KDP leads election in Kurdistan Region, Nineveh according to unofficial results

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A source on Sunday told Kurdistan 24 that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was leading the election as unofficial results in the Kurdistan Region and the province of Nineveh become public, a first-time occurrence for a Kurdish Party.

“The KDP is leading in the number of votes in the provinces of Erbil, Duhok, and Nineveh,” said a Kurdistan 24 source who asked to remain anonymous.

The KDP had decided to abstain from listing in the Kirkuk Province for these elections, pointing to the illegitimate occupation of the territory by Iraq’s forces since last October.

Other Kurdish parties – Gorran (MFC), Komal (KIG), and the Coalition for Justice and Democracy (CJD) – however, ran as the “Homeland” coalition, led by CJD’s Barham Salih, in the disputed territories.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), New Generation (NG), and Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) were not a part of the coalition and ran as separate parties.

Initial unofficial results show PUK trailing behind the KDP in the KRG.

The Independent High Election Commission is planning on announcing the official election results on Monday.

Turnout stands at 44.5 percent, according to the IHEC. It is the lowest voter turnout rate in Iraq in the past 13 years. In the 2014 elections, roughly 60 percent headed to the polls.

Initial unofficial results obtained by Kurdistan 24 estimate results as follows for the Kurdish parties in the Kurdistan Region and Nineveh.

Editing by Nadia Riva