World
A photo taken on September 1, 2021 shows a lion statue in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, ahead of the parliamentary elections. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish candidates in Norway’s parliamentary elections call for active participation of Kurds in the elections, on Sunday, to ensure a strong and democratic process in Norway and facilitate the official recognition of the Halabja and Sardasht massacres as genocide.
Nigar Einayati, a Kurdish candidate from the Red Party for Norway’s parliamentary elections told Rudaw that they will work towards “officially recognizing the attacks on Halabja, Shingal [Sinjar], and Sardasht as genocide,” adding that “in regards to Rojava [northeast Syria], it is important to us to recognize it as an autonomous self-managing region.”
Eight Kurds are running in Norway’s parliamentary elections this year, representing 22 parties competing for 169 seats across eight electoral districts. Three of them spoke to Rudaw about their agendas if elected.
“In the case of Iran, the focus should not only be on their nuclear issue, but also to recognize the rights of people there and to put pressure on Iran to abolish the death penalty,” emphasized Einayati.
Nawisa Falahzadeh, also running under the Red Party, is calling for participation of Kurds in Norway’s elections to make sure their demands are met.
“Facilitating and encouraging young people to pursue higher education, especially Kurdish youth and refugees in Norway, is one of the most prominent points in my program,” said Falahzadeh, who was born in Erbil but originally from Mahabad in western Iran (Rojhelat).
Awin Salih, another Kurdish candidate, told Rudaw that the participation of the Kurdish diaspora in Norway is essential.
“We are making great efforts for immigrants and we want to help everyone who needs help.” said Salih, adding that “we want to help asylum seekers start a new life. We have benefited a lot from immigrants and we want other parties to help the immigrants.”
According to the latest poll by Norwegian media, the Labour Party is projected to win 29 percent of the votes, while the Progress Party - a right-wing conservative party - is set to secure 21 percent and the Conservative Party 16 percent. The Socialist Left Party is also expected to win 7 percent and the Red Party 6 percent of the votes.
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