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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s fourth congress is due to end without a clear leadership in place.
Following years of delay due to party rivalry and internal wrangling, the PUK’s fourth party congress kicked off on Saturday in Sulaimani to reform party structure and “inject new blood” into the party.
The party elected its Supreme Political Council on Sunday, headed by interim President Kosrat Rasul.
On Monday, voting for the remaining 118 spots in the General Leadership Council took place. Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Rewaz Fayaq, Iraqi President Barham Salih, and Kurdistan Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani had already been selected to the body.
“Today, we are electing the 121-member legislative authority, and it is among them that the executive power, the Leadership Council of PUK, will be elected. It is also in the General Council that the president, its deputies, and the presidential board will be elected," revealed Zubeir Othman, a congress member, to Rudaw on Monday.
"We hope, through this election, a type of leadership is elected that is useful for the current conditions, for them to be dedicated people who can administer the country," Mustafah Chawrash, head of 70 Unit forces of Peshmerga, commanded by the PUK, told reporters on Monday.
Congress spokesperson Mala Yassin told reporters on Monday that voting is expected to continue into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Voting for the General Council was slated to start at 9:00 AM on Monday, but the process moved slowly, so much that by 5:00 PM, less than 25 percent of the 1000 Congress members had cast their votes.
The General Leadership Council is tasked with choosing the new leader of the party. It is unclear who will be elected leader, although President Salah has emerged as one of the favored candidates.
Ata Sarawi, a member of the congress, told Rudaw on Monday that the next president and deputies of PUK will be elected in the next 45 days.
Despite the long process, Yassin claimed the congress was a success.
“The problems, rivalries and disputes that existed between former Leadership Council members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan have all been laid to rest,” he told Rudaw.
However, most decisions made within the party will have to go through a vote in the General Council, revealed Yassin.
According to the spokesperson, the full structure of the party won’t be revealed until the conclusion of discussions and voting by both the Supreme Political and General Leadership Councils. Most decisions made within the party will have to go through a vote in the General Council.
All the voting stations have security cameras installed in them to dispel fears of fraud. A delegation from Iraq's Higher Independent Electoral Commission also monitored the process.
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