An alliance in Kirkuk and more than 400 candidates in the first local elections after 2005

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[size=52]An alliance in Kirkuk and more than 400 candidates in the first local elections after 2005[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]It is likely that the road in Kirkuk will be reopened after about a week of its closure, pending investigations into the issue of the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, a high-ranking military delegation arrived in Kirkuk for the first time since protesters blocked the city's road, coinciding with preparations for local elections.[/size]
[size=45]A group of demonstrators moved to prevent the Democratic Party from returning to Kirkuk, according to political sources.[/size]
[size=45]It is expected that Kirkuk, an oil-rich city, will participate for the first time in local elections since 2005, amid escalating threatening rhetoric.[/size]
[size=45]Political sources in Kirkuk said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that "the protests in Kirkuk are the first attempt to exclude a political party in the upcoming local elections."[/size]
[size=45]About a week ago, protesters blocked the road linking Kirkuk and Erbil, refusing to accept the Democratic Party's headquarters, which had been occupied by the army.[/size]
[size=45]The sources show that “what is happening is related to fears of exposure of some political parties that controlled Kirkuk 6 years ago without a competitor.”[/size]
[size=45]And she confirms that these parties, during the past years, have taken control of land and established a wide commercial activity with partners from multiple parties.[/size]
[size=45]The sources expect that the protest crisis is heading towards a solution after the arrival of the military delegation to Kirkuk, adding: “It may open the way in exchange for forming a committee to study the ownership of the headquarters.”[/size]
[size=45]It seems, according to the sources, that the parties that sparked the issue of the road closure have been implicated and are now looking for a way out of the crisis.[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, Saturday, a security delegation headed by the Army Chief of Staff, Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, arrived in Kirkuk Governorate. A statement by the Ministry of Defense stated that "the chief of staff of the army, accompanied by his assistant for operations and the commander of the ground forces, arrived at the Kirkuk operations sector to see the overall security situation and the deployment of the units."[/size]
[size=45]Protesters had claimed that the land on which the Democratic Party headquarters is located on the outskirts of Kirkuk belongs to the state. Arab, Turkmen and other factions are participating in attempts to inflame the street against the return of the Democratic Party to civilization.[/size]
[size=45]According to local sources, “the opposition parties have established huge trade and seized lands in partnership with factions and other parties, and today they fear the loss of these privileges.”[/size]
[size=45]Most of the conflict revolves around the position of Governor of Kirkuk, which Rakan al-Jubouri has occupied for 6 years, following the deployment of federal forces in the city in 2017.[/size]
[size=45]Two years ago, Shakhwan Abdullah, the current deputy speaker of Parliament, revealed to (Al-Mada) an agreement with former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to restore normalization in Kirkuk.[/size]
[size=45]In the recent legislative elections, the Democratic Party won a seat in Kirkuk for the first time after it left the city in the wake of the 2017 operations.[/size]
[size=45]And leaks had talked about the coordinating framework's commitment during the process of forming the current government, to restore the headquarters of the Democratic Party.[/size]
[size=45]In addition, a leader in a new electoral alliance led by Planning Minister Muhammad Tamim confirmed the latter's support for the return of the Democratic Party to Kirkuk.[/size]
[size=45]"We support the return of the Kurdistan Democratic Party to Kirkuk because it is a political party and it has the right to participate in the political process in Kirkuk, but we want the return to be in a peaceful and legal way, and not by clashing political positions," the leader of the coalition, Khaled al-Mafarji, said in a press conference held yesterday in Kirkuk.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mafarji, a former deputy from Kirkuk, added, "The political parties that oppose the return of the Democratic Party want to exploit the issue for electoral political purposes, and this is bad and deepens the crisis."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mafarji pointed out that "the prime minister should play a positive role in resolving this issue and convincing all political parties of the return of the KDP to Kirkuk."[/size]
[size=45]"We have many options to solve this issue, one of which is to refer the case to the competent courts," he added.[/size]
[size=45]A video clip showed MP Wasfi Al-Assi speaking to protesters at the Democratic Party headquarters in Kirkuk, refusing to return the party to civil service.[/size]
[size=45]And the Minister of Planning, Muhammad Tamim, previously responded to Al-Asi, after the latter accused him of selling Kirkuk.[/size]
[size=45]Tamim Fi said in a post on Facebook: “The deputy who claimed objection (referring to Al-Asi) was among those who voted on the ministerial platform.”[/size]
[size=45]Tamim considered that what Al-Assi had done: “It is nothing but misleading and sowing dust in the eyes, and if there is any prejudice to the status of Kirkuk - as he claims - then why did he vote on the platform in the first place?”[/size]
[size=45]These developments take place in the wake of Kirkuk's readiness to participate in the local elections scheduled for December 18.[/size]
[size=45]The number of candidates in Kirkuk is estimated at about 400, distributed among 16 alliances and political entities, divided between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.[/size]
[size=45]Najat Hussein, a former member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, describes the electoral scene in the city as "based on national polarization, and the list that does not mobilize its nationality is exposed to a loss."[/size]
[size=45]The Arabs participate in two alliances, namely: the Arab coalition in Kirkuk headed by Governor Rakan al-Jubouri, and the Pan-Arab alliance led by Representative Al-Asi.[/size]
[size=45]As for the Kurds, the Kurdistan Democratic Party participates in its name in the elections along with two Kurdish lists, one of which includes the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Communist Party under the name “Kirkuk is our strength and our will.”[/size]
[size=45]The second alliance is the Kirkuk Landmarks Alliance, which includes both the Kurdistan Islamic Union and Kurdistan Justice.[/size]
[size=45]As for the Turkmen, they were divided into two alliances, the first includes nationalists under the name of the Turkmen Front, headed by former MP Hussein Turan, and the second is Islamic, which is the National Framework Alliance headed by the former Minister of Interior and leader in Badr Muhammad al-Ghabban.[/size]
[size=45]The latter alliance includes the Turkmen within the Badr Organization, the State of Law, the Wisdom Movement, and the Supreme Council.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, Muhammad al-Halbousi, Speaker of Parliament in Kirkuk, participates through the Leadership Alliance headed by Minister of Planning Muhammad Tamim.[/size]
[size=45]Two coalitions are competing with him, the first is the decisiveness led by Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi, and the second is our hawks, headed by former deputy Mishaan al-Jubouri.[/size]
[size=45]Also participating in Kirkuk are the Civil Alliance, which includes the Communist Party, the National Nahj Alliance (formerly the Virtue Party), and the Madar Alliance, which includes the Imam Ali Brigades and other factions.[/size]
[size=45]Najat Hussein notes that the process of promoting the elections in Kirkuk "began early, through paving campaigns, promises of employment and distribution of positions.[/size]
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