ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Change Movement (Gorran) acting general coordinator Dana Majid urged voters for another chance on Tuesday, the final day of the campaigning, and pledged to push for change and to defend people’s rights through a strong opposition.
“We ask you to give your movement [Gorran] another chance in this election and make it strong again so that in the future through a powerful opposition we can defend your rights and demands,” Majid said in a video message.
Majid pledged that the party would “work adamantly to realize welfare, peace, security, the rule of law, and root out corruption,” while promising to address the Region's service needs.
On Thursday, Majid announced the party's withdrawal from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and local governments. He encouraged voters to support the Kurdistan Region’s continued political development.
In a separate video, Kardo Mohammed, head of Gorran's parliamentary affairs reiterated the call for the people’s confidence.
“The world will not allow the Kurdistan Region to remain in this stalemate, because citizens must have a decent life, not be subjugated by force,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed echoed the need for a strong opposition, saying that “without a big opposition force, it is difficult to have change.”
“Big change depends on the will of the people. Despite our delay in campaigning, we made the right decision and can achieve change with the vote of the citizens,” he added.
Since its founder’s passing, the movement has suffered internal disputes over who should lead the party. In September, the then-leader, Omar Sayyid Ali, was banned from entering the movement’s headquarters in Sulaimani. He relinquished the role to the party’s current acting coordinator, Majid.
Once a major opposition force that won 25 seats in the 2009 regional parliamentary elections, Gorran lost popularity through several unpopular decisions, including alliances with two ruling parties and failed to win any seats in Iraq's 2021 parliamentary elections.
The Kurdistan Region will hold parliamentary elections on Sunday with early voting on Friday. Tuesday marked the final day of the official campaigning period.