The Democratic boycott of the elections paves the way for the return of the tripartite alliance

POSTED ON[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] BY [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]The Democratic boycott of the elections paves the way for the return of the tripartite alliance[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]Observers say that escalating conditions in the country may revive the tripartite alliance in a new form, following the Kurdistan Democratic Party's decision to boycott the elections and threaten to withdraw from the political process.
A former MP describes the political and legal pressures against Kurdistan in the last two years as attempts to establish a “Vichy government” in the region under Iranian sponsorship.[/size]
[size=45]The developments in the position of the Democratic Party led by Masoud Barzani come with a new movement by the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, and the “desperation” of Muhammad al-Halbousi, the leader of Taqadum, to implement his demands.[/size]
[size=45]The Kurdistan Democratic Party’s position called for the United States to announce its “concern” about what is happening, and called for “full participation in free, fair, transparent and credible elections.”[/size]
[size=45]“We also understand the concerns raised by Iraqi Kurds regarding recent decisions taken by federal institutions,” State Department spokesman Vidhan Patel told reporters in Washington.[/size]
[size=45]The Kurdistan Democratic Party, which also holds the presidency of the regional government, announced “not to participate in elections held in violation of the law and the constitution and under the umbrella of an imposed electoral system,” according to what was stated in a statement.[/size]
[size=45]The party attributed its decision to its refusal to “legitimize an unconstitutional and undemocratic election,” criticizing what it described as “constitutional violations practiced by the Federal Court against the Kurdistan region and its constitutional institutions in general.”[/size]
[size=45]The regional presidency announced in early March that the elections in Kurdistan would be held on June 10, after they were repeatedly postponed as a result of political differences between the two main parties in the region, and disagreements with Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]Ihsan Al-Shammari, head of the Center for Political Thinking, tells Al-Mada that the Democratic Party’s decision is “a second escalatory step following the resignation of Judge Abdul Rahman Zebari from the Federal Court.”[/size]
[size=45]Zebari announced his resignation from the Federal Court, the highest judicial authority in the country, a week ago, after he said that he was “incapable of stopping decisions to target Kurdistan and the interests of its citizens.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shammari stated that the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s latest position came after “the party reached a late conviction that its Shiite partners are working to undermine its influence in Kurdistan and at the federal level and thus exclude it in a situation similar to the process of eliminating Muqtada al-Sadr (the leader of the Sadrist movement).”[/size]
[size=45]He added: “This decision will represent a remarkable step, especially since it is similar to the scenario taken by Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr, and therefore it seems that the Kurdistan Democratic Party is convinced that the Shiite coordination framework cannot implement the political agreements.”[/size]
[size=45]In its statement, the Democratic Party criticized amendments that it described as “unconstitutional to the election law for the sixth session of the Kurdistan Parliament,” especially “in the articles related to determining the system of electoral districts, the quotas of components, the number of seats, the body supervising the election, and the body competent to decide on electoral appeals.”[/size]
[size=45]The Kurdistan Party also threatened to withdraw from the political process in Baghdad “unless the constitution is implemented.” The Federal Supreme Court ruled to cancel 11 seats allocated to minorities, reducing the number of seats in the regional parliament to 100.[/size]
[size=45]The decision also led to changing the electoral system by dividing the Kurdistan region into four electoral districts instead of the one-district system adopted in the previous elections in 2018, which prompted the Kurdistan Democratic Party to reject it as unconstitutional.[/size]
[size=45]The court's decision granted the Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq the authority to organize and supervise elections in the region instead of the Kurdish Election Commission.[/size]
[size=45]The Federal Court's decision came after a lawsuit filed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party, the historical rival of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, according to a court document that Reuters said it had seen.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, Al-Shammari, a professor of public policy at the University of Baghdad, considered that the Democratic Party’s decision “encourages the return of understandings between Masoud Barzani and Al-Sadr, especially since the atmosphere is now prepared for the return of the movement’s leader.”[/size]
[size=45]Conflicting information is circulating about Al-Sadr's return to politics again, after his retirement more than a year ago, as Nouri Al-Maliki, the leader of the State of Law, insists that he has information that the movement will participate in the upcoming elections.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sadr had unexpectedly visited, the day before yesterday, the supreme religious authority in Najaf, Ali Al-Sistani, as part of Al-Sadr’s largest public appearance since the failure of his previous project to form a majority government in 2022 with Barzani and Muhammad Al-Halbousi, the ousted Speaker of Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]Ihsan Al-Shammari says that although Al-Halbousi has not yet determined his position on the recent developments; “But if a speaker of parliament from his party is not chosen, he may be forced to return to the same path he started.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued: “Especially since the conviction now formed among the representatives of the leadership (Al-Sadr, Barzani, Al-Halbousi) is that the state of revenge is what governs the relationship towards them, and therefore they will seek to restore their alliance, but with other national forces, against the current parties in charge of the decision.”[/size]
[size=45]The tripartite alliance (Save the Homeland) was announced in March 2022, while Al-Halbousi said a few days ago that his removal from Parliament was due to his relationship with the “tripartite alliance.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shammari believed that the Democratic Party’s decision will increase differences within Kurdistan and will expand its influence at the federal level “and threaten the equation of the state administration coalition. It is not possible to talk about this coalition without the presence of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shammari said that the statements of the US State Department and the United Nations came due to “a sense of danger in the future of Iraq” after the Democratic Party’s decision, and he stressed that “difficult days will pass for the coordination framework.”[/size]
[size=45]The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), in a statement the day before yesterday, expressed its fear of falling into a “dilemma,” after the Democratic Party boycotted the regional parliament elections.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, about 20 parties and movements in Kurdistan, including Christian and Turkmen, announced their support for the Democratic Party’s decision not to participate in the elections.[/size]
[size=45]Mithal Al-Alusi, a former MP, said in an interview with Al-Mada: “Iran is manipulating the region, taking advantage of the inability of the administration in Washington to implement bold decisions due to the proximity of the American elections, and it wants a government close to it in Kurdistan.” Al-Alusi, a former member of the Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, believes that the political and judicial decisions against Kurdistan “want to form a government sponsored by Iran.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Alusi added, “These attempts may occur in Sulaymaniyah overnight, but in Erbil this is difficult with the presence of the current strong government in the region.”[/size]
[size=45]The former MP confirmed that the Prime Minister of Kurdistan and the leader of the Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, “prevented Tehran’s influence and expansion in the region.”[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]