Displaced Kurds Turn Their Return Into a Political Act Ahead of Iraq’s Nov. 11 Election

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – With a resolve forged in years of displacement and a deep-seated fear for the future of their ancestral homeland, thousands of Kurds from Kirkuk, Khurmatu, and other Kurdistani territories are preparing to undertake a momentous journey. For up to 12 years, instability and targeted marginalization have forced them from their homes, scattering them across the Kurdistan Region. 

Now, on the eve of the crucial Nov. 11th elections, they are mobilizing to return, not to resettle, but to cast a ballot in what they see as a last stand to preserve their land, their rights, and their very identity against a rising tide of demographic change and political disenfranchisement. Their message is unequivocal: displacement will not break their spirit, and they will not cede their land through absence.

This powerful act of political pilgrimage is driven by a profound sense of national duty and a burning desire to ensure that the Kurdish voice is not silenced in these historically Kurdish areas. Qasim Muhammed, a citizen from the town of Khurmatu who now resides in Erbil, articulated this deep-seated conviction.

"We as a nation and the Kurdish people make our own decisions and have our own say. In every election process, we return to our city and vote," he told Kurdistan24. His words underscore a belief that the act of voting is an assertion of sovereignty and belonging. "We want the Kurdish voice to remain in that area, because the city is the property of the Kurds. Since ancient times our ancestors have lived in that area, we will never give it up. Our entire family will return to the city on election day and vote for the Kurds."

This sentiment is echoed across the communities of the displaced, who, despite years of living in exile from their hometowns, refuse to let their national feeling be eroded. For them, the election is more than a political contest; it is a critical battle to safeguard the demographic and cultural character of their homeland.

Yusuf Muhammed, another displaced citizen, framed it as a collective responsibility. "We are always ready to vote for the Kurds and Kurdistan, because we do not want the Kurdish vote in those areas to decrease," he said. "I call on every Kurd to go back to their own city and vote there, so that the Kurdish vote will be large and their votes will not go to waste."

The belief that political representation is the primary tool for defending their rights is a powerful motivator. Another citizen from Khurmatu emphasized the tangible link between the ballot box and their struggle for survival.

"Our return to our city and our voting is an important step for regaining our rights, because through the Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi parliament we can defend our land and our rights," he explained.

This perspective has been hardened by years of watching their political influence systematically dismantled in the aftermath of the Oct. 16, 2017 events, when Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias seized control of Kirkuk and other Kurdistani territories following the Kurdistan independence referendum.

The situation is particularly acute in the province of Diyala, where displaced Kurdish families view the upcoming election as a desperate, last-ditch effort to reclaim their political voice. In the years since 2017, they have witnessed a devastating erosion of their security and administrative standing.

An estimated forty Kurdish-inhabited villages in the province have been completely evacuated due to a security vacuum and targeted intimidation. Mohammed Mahmoud, a citizen from Diyala preparing to return to vote, painted a bleak picture of the demographic shift.

"After the betrayal of Oct. 16th, the Kurds in these areas have become a minority, meaning their percentage in this area does not exceed 2 percent," he told Kurdistan24 in a previous report, a dramatic decline from their once-dominant presence.

This political marginalization has been swift and severe. Akbar Haider, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) 15th branch in Khanaqin, warned in August 2024 that Kurdish representation on the Diyala Provincial Council had collapsed from six seats, including the powerful positions of council speaker and deputy governor, to just a single seat.

This has fueled fears that the post of Diyala's governor could also be stripped from the Kurds as Sunni and Shiite blocs reportedly move to divide all administrative posts among themselves. "There is a fear that Kurds will be marginalized in Diyala and Khanaqin, treated as a minority despite constituting 95% of the population [in areas like Khanaqin]," Haider stated.

Many Kurdish leaders see these developments not as incidental political shifts but as a deliberate and systematic revival of the Ba'athist-era policy of Arabization. A recent and highly controversial decision by Iraq's Ministry of Planning to gerrymander administrative boundaries in Diyala has been met with unified condemnation.

The plan to upgrade the subdistrict of Qaratapa to a full district while simultaneously merging the predominantly Kurdish subdistricts of Jabara, Koks, and Kulajo into it is viewed as a blatant attempt to dilute the Kurdish majority in the vital Khanaqin district. Karwan Yarwais, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) lawmaker, denounced the move as unconstitutional, a violation of Article 140, and a clear continuation of "Arabization and displacement policies."

The campaign against the Kurdish presence extends beyond political maps and into the cultural and educational fabric of the community. In July 2025, the Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad issued a directive banning Kurdish-speaking students at the universities of Kirkuk, Mosul, and Diyala from answering exam questions in their native language. This reversal of a long-standing policy places Kurdish students at a severe academic disadvantage and is widely seen as a political tool to suppress Kurdish cultural identity in these contested territories.

This systemic pressure is compounded by a catastrophic failure of governance that is devastating the daily lives and livelihoods of the people on the ground. In Diyala, a province once celebrated as one of Iraq's "green lungs," historic orchards are withering away due to a combination of climate change, severe water scarcity, and the economic pressure of cheap imports.

This agricultural collapse is fueling a rural exodus. At the same time, the province suffers from a chronic and unequal distribution of electricity, with residents enduring a punishing cycle of "one hour of electricity, three hours of blackout," totaling no more than six hours of power per day during the scorching summer months.

It is within this crucible of immense pressure—political disenfranchisement, demographic manipulation, cultural suppression, economic collapse, and a near-total absence of basic services—that the Kurds of the Kurdistani territories are placing their hopes in the power of their collective vote. 

They understand that while past election results have not solved all their problems, their consistent participation has been the only thing preventing the complete erasure of their demographic and cultural footprint. 

Nuri Mohammed, a displaced Kurd from Diyala who has been actively campaigning for the KDP, summed up the existential nature of the vote. "Kurds must impose their voice, color, and place here," he declared. "We cannot just watch here from afar because it is our own land."

As Nov. 11th approaches, the roads leading back to Kirkuk, Khurmatu, and Khanaqin will be filled with families who have temporarily left their displaced lives behind. They are driven not by a promise of immediate solutions, but by a sacred and enduring commitment to their homeland. 

Their journey is a powerful testament to their resilience and a defiant declaration that, despite every effort to uproot them, they will not be silenced, they will not be erased, and they will never, ever give up their land.