ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Sloganeering has begun in earnest ahead of the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election, scheduled for September 30. Kurdish parties hope their hackneyed mission statements will be enough to revive the slump in voter confidence.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will run for election on its nationalist themed slogan “Building a strong Kurdistan”. With a similar sentiment, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will run on “Towards a developed Kurdistan”.
Other party slogans meanwhile call for a break with the past. The Change Movement (Gorran) has chosen “Gorran is the force of change”, while New Generation has opted for “Changing the whole system”.
None of the slogans are particularly original, yet party officials say the themes encapsulate their message for voters.
“We have our own vision for the future of Kurdistan, and we have our own electoral program,” Khasraw Goran, head of the KDP’s election department, told Rudaw.
“Through this program, voters and the people can become familiar with KDP’s promises, wishes, and vision for the future of Kurdistan.”
Gorran officials say their slogan will help regain the confidence of voters in the democratic system, marred by four years of political crisis in Erbil and allegations of fraud in the May 12 Iraqi parliamentary election.
“An affluent life, social justice, changing the governance system, transparency, equal distribution of budget and public wealth will be the scales for us to have a strong government, parliament and entity,” Balen Ismael, a member of Gorran’s Election Chamber, told Rudaw.
“They [the ruling parties] have created much despair. This despair requires from us to tell our people, the people of Kurdistan, that we, no matter under whatever settings, circumstances, and pressure, won’t give up,” Hawzhin Omer, head of Komal’s (Islamic Group) election body, told Rudaw.
Although the election is slated for September 30, many of the parties would like to see it postponed, arguing Iraq’s government formation talks and a lack of budget makes it difficult to run two election campaigns in one year.
Absent from the list of slogans in the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ). The party’s founder, Barham Salih, has decided to boycott the elections, claiming the election register has not been cleaned of duplicates and the name of the dead, allowing the ruling parties to rig the results.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will run for election on its nationalist themed slogan “Building a strong Kurdistan”. With a similar sentiment, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will run on “Towards a developed Kurdistan”.
Other party slogans meanwhile call for a break with the past. The Change Movement (Gorran) has chosen “Gorran is the force of change”, while New Generation has opted for “Changing the whole system”.
Likewise, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU)/Kurdistan Islamic Movement (IMK) alliance simply calls for “Reform”. Komal meanwhile will campaign on the determined slogan “We don’t give up."
None of the slogans are particularly original, yet party officials say the themes encapsulate their message for voters.
“We have our own vision for the future of Kurdistan, and we have our own electoral program,” Khasraw Goran, head of the KDP’s election department, told Rudaw.
“Through this program, voters and the people can become familiar with KDP’s promises, wishes, and vision for the future of Kurdistan.”
Gorran officials say their slogan will help regain the confidence of voters in the democratic system, marred by four years of political crisis in Erbil and allegations of fraud in the May 12 Iraqi parliamentary election.
“An affluent life, social justice, changing the governance system, transparency, equal distribution of budget and public wealth will be the scales for us to have a strong government, parliament and entity,” Balen Ismael, a member of Gorran’s Election Chamber, told Rudaw.
Komal says it will remain on the “people’s side."
“They [the ruling parties] have created much despair. This despair requires from us to tell our people, the people of Kurdistan, that we, no matter under whatever settings, circumstances, and pressure, won’t give up,” Hawzhin Omer, head of Komal’s (Islamic Group) election body, told Rudaw.
Although the election is slated for September 30, many of the parties would like to see it postponed, arguing Iraq’s government formation talks and a lack of budget makes it difficult to run two election campaigns in one year.
Absent from the list of slogans in the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ). The party’s founder, Barham Salih, has decided to boycott the elections, claiming the election register has not been cleaned of duplicates and the name of the dead, allowing the ruling parties to rig the results.
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