KDP’s Kirkuk Carnival Draws Thousands as Party Promises Renewal and Reform

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - In a massive and vibrant display of political force, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is set to hold its first major public carnival in Kirkuk on Saturday, officially launching its electoral campaign with a powerful message of service, partnership, and a determined vow to normalize the city's fraught security situation. 

Thousands of supporters are to gather for the large-scale event, where all 24 of the party's candidates for the Kirkuk constituency will be presented to the public, each ready to articulate a clear and ambitious program aimed at restoring the city's constitutional balance and defending the rights of its Kurdish population. 

The carnival, a sea of yellow flags and enthusiastic supporters, serves as a strong and confident start to the KDP's campaign, a campaign that seeks to translate the party's long history of sacrifice and its recent record of tangible achievements into a decisive electoral victory.

The preparations for the event, which is scheduled to begin at four o'clock in the afternoon, are extensive. 

According to Kurdistan24's correspondent at the carnival site, Soran Kameran, the scale of the gathering is a clear statement of intent, with approximately 12,000 chairs set up to accommodate the expected attendees. The entire site is adorned with the pictures and posters of the candidates of the KDP's list, number 275, creating a powerful visual testament to the party's organized and well-resourced campaign.

Speaking from the carnival, the KDP's candidates outlined the core tenets of their program and their deep commitment to the people of Kirkuk. ‌Hawre Tayef, a KDP candidate, articulated the party's fundamental political vision for Iraq, stating, "Our program is a return to the starting point of the formation of the Iraqi government, which was founded on the basis of consensus, balance, and partnership. We hope to be good servants of the people of Kirkuk." 

This emphasis on the foundational principles of the post-2003 Iraqi state is a central theme of the KDP's campaign, which argues that a true and equitable partnership is the only path to stability and progress.

Sherzad Rashid Kaka, another KDP candidate whose electoral number is 24, used the number to make a memorable and heartfelt pledge. 

"Today, the general carnival of list 275 of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the Kirkuk constituency is being held, and we, as the candidates, are all ready to introduce ourselves to our struggling masses," he said. "My number is 24, and for 24 hours we will be in the service of our honorable people."

This same candidate then detailed some of the specific and pressing issues that the KDP intends to tackle if elected. "Our program is to remove the militarization that exists in Kirkuk, and to return the authorities to the hands of the local police," he declared, addressing a major source of grievance for the city's Kurdish population, who have long felt targeted and oppressed by the heavy presence of federal security forces. He also highlighted a critical issue of cultural and educational rights.

"At the University of Kirkuk, we have a problem, which is the response to the students in the Kurdish language, which is being prevented," he explained. "Therefore, we have a program to make it a project and a law so that they are no longer prevented and can respond in Kurdish."

This promise directly confronts a recent and controversial directive from the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education that has been widely condemned as a violation of the constitutional status of the Kurdish language.

The party's broader message to the city was articulated by the head of the KDP's third branch in Kirkuk, Aram Jabari. In a direct appeal for support, he stated, "We ask the people of this city in general and the voters of the party in particular to support us. The prosperity that has been provided in Kurdistan under the rule of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, we hope to be able to transfer it to Kirkuk as well." 

This message aims to draw a clear contrast between the stability and development seen in the Kurdistan Region and the persistent challenges and neglect experienced in Kirkuk, positioning the KDP as the party with a proven track record of effective governance.

The carnival is the public face of a campaign that has been carefully and deliberately crafted by the KDP's leadership.

As detailed in a previous Kurdistan24 report, the head of the KDP list in Kirkuk, Dr. Shakhawan Abdullah, has emphasized that the party is conducting its campaign in a peaceful and civilized manner, a directive that he said comes from the highest levels of the party leadership, including President Masoud Barzani and KDP Vice President Masrour Barzani.

"The campaigns must not become a cause for bothering people," Dr. Abdullah stated, quoting the leadership's message.

This commitment to a peaceful campaign has been maintained despite what Dr. Abdullah described as minor provocations, such as the tearing of candidates' posters. He has met these acts not with anger, but with a confidence born of historical experience.

"In 2021, all of our posters were torn, but we still won the first place in Kirkuk's votes, because we are confident in our cause," he recalled. That confidence, he has explained, is rooted in the loyalty of the people of Kirkuk, who, he believes, "respect the history and sacrifices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party."

This history of sacrifice is now being combined with a more recent and tangible record of achievement, which forms the backbone of the KDP's electoral appeal. Dr. Abdullah, who has served as the Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, has been at the forefront of the legislative battle to normalize the situation in Kirkuk and reverse the legacy of the former Ba'athist regime's Arabization policies.

He has successfully pushed for the passage of bills to return occupied lands to their original owners and has been instrumental in reviving the long-stalled Article 140 of the Constitution, which has led to the resumption of compensation payments for displaced families.

He has also delivered a long list of concrete infrastructure and security projects for the city, from providing clean drinking water to neglected neighborhoods to securing the removal of a feared military base and creating thousands of jobs for Kurdish youths.

It is this powerful combination of historical legitimacy and a proven record of "fulfilled promises" that the KDP is now bringing to the voters of Kirkuk. The first major carnival of the campaign season was a clear and powerful demonstration of the party's organizational strength and its deep connection to its popular base.