PM Barzani congratulates electoral success of 'Kurdish representatives' in Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani extended his congratulations to the Kurdish winners of the Iraqi elections in Kirkuk on Tuesday, declaring that their victory has “proven the Kurdistani identity of Kirkuk.”

“I want to congratulate the victory of the Kurdish representatives in Kirkuk in particular, they have again proven the Kurdistani identity of Kirkuk,” Barzani said.

The prime minister, himself a top member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), also congratulated KDP President Masoud Barzani and his fellow party members for the “remarkable victory” they had won in the election.

According to the preliminary results released by Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), the KDP is the leading party in the Kurdistan Region having won no fewer than 32 seats in the Iraqi parliament.

Barzani’s party had two candidates running in the disputed city of Kirkuk, both of whom won seats in the election. Shakawan Abdulla, a member of the KDP, obtained over 31,000 votes in the city, the highest in that province.

Prime Minister Barzani also congratulated the people of the Yezidi-majority Sinjar for their participation in the elections and for their “strong support” of the KDP.

On Tuesday night, the prime minister joined party supporters in a celebration of their electoral victory in the Primam suburb of the Kurdistan Region capital Erbil.

Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Region, celebrates the electoral victory of his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Iraqi elections with supporters in Erbil's Pirmam suburb. #iraqielections2021 pic.twitter.com/oecVxeZPoz

— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) October 12, 2021

In the Nineveh Plain, of which Sinjar is an electoral and administrative part, the KDP won nine seats.

Barzani also congratulated other winners of the elections and expressed his hope that they would work together for securing the Kurdish people’s interests and “full implementation” of the Iraqi constitution.

He also expressed his hope that such cooperation would bring economic, political, and security stability to Iraq and strengthen relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil and the central government in Baghdad.

In Sunday’s elections, over 25 million Iraqi voters were eligible to vote for more than 3,000 candidates who were competing for the 329-seat parliament.