By Mufid Abdulla: In this year’s Iraq parliamentary elections, the PUK won 21 seats and this kept them in a position to take the post of presidency of Iraq, like last time. We don’t know exactly why the PUK did well in the elections to the Iraqi parliament but not to the Kurdistan parliament and I…
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Category Archives: PUK
Kurd MPs split over Iraq presidency, Ma’sum nomination beats Salih
By a Correspondent: The election of the next Iraq president by the Baghdad parliament has been delayed for 24 hours because Kurd politicians have struggled to put forward a single candidate. As a legacy of the Strategic Agreement between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), it was agreed that…
PUK must speak up for an independent Kurdistan in the South
By Mufid Abdulla: It has long been a complaint of those campaigning for an independent Kurdish state in the south of Kurdistan that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leaders are reluctant to speak out publicly in favour of Independence and indeed, privately, some PUK leaders say this is because they don’t want the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)…
ISIS claims responsibility for Diyala bomb attacks on PUK
KT News: The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s deadly attack on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) headquarters in Jalawla in the disputed province of Diyala. 18 were killed and dozens wounded in a double assault. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it…
The elections are over and it’s the PUK who are smiling
By Mufid Abdulla: On 30th April 2014 elections for the Iraqi parliament and local councils took place and, once again, the results have partly transformed the political map of the south of Kurdistan. This time the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) increased its seats by six, while the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) lost five seats…
Election terror: suicide bomber murders 30 in Khaneqin
KT News: 30 people were killed and about 50 were injured at a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) election rally in Khanaqin today when a suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd that had gathered to watch televised footage of PUK leader Jalal Talabani casting his vote in Germany, where he has been in…
How to Peacefully End Double ‘Party-State’ in Kurdistan?
By Sarkawt Shamsulddin: The challenge for the new cabinet is how to eliminate the status quo, double “party-state”, peacefully without creating “net losers.”(1) In order to do so, it requires an ultimate reform of both political and financial institutions. The broad-based government can be used to conduct such reforms if all parties reach a consensus…
Gorran movement in power
By Mufid Abdulla: 17th April proved an unforgettable day for the Gorran leadership when, after a bumpy road of almost six months of negotiations, they succeeded in persuading the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to share the government with them. The KDP and the Gorran movement have reached an historic agreement on forming a new…
PUK locks up journalists
KT News: PUK-controlled security forces have detained two journalists in Sulaimaniyah this week. Hoshiyar Abdullah, manager of the KNN TV channel has been detained in the Serchinar district in Sulaimaniyah city. ‘Awene’ reports that his arrest relates to a KNN TV report about a Iranian Kurdistan Democratic party (KDPI) official. Hoshiyar, an election candidate for Gorran, was…
KT news briefing, 3rd April 2014
‘PUK interferes in Kawa Germyani’s court case’ The PUK has been accused of interfering in the Kawa Germyani murder case. The murderer of the anti-corruption journalist had already made a confession but now he has allegedly been instructed to say that he did not do it. Apparently the judge who is investigating the case gave…
Think beyond the narrow interest!
By Zeravan Barwary: The philosophical basis of creating governments and designing political systems is to serve the people. The political party system which manages the competition among different parties with various ideologies is usually conducted for the benefit of the people. Economic and political projects are the main factors which affect the domestic political hegemony….
Has the Talabani family marginalised the PUK for a generation?
By Mufid Abdulla: It is almost one year and four months since Jalal Talabani vanished from the political scene due to a serious stroke. Since then fears have grown and hope has been diminished within his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) over how the party leadership can fill the vacuum inside the organisation. At the last…
The KRG’s main challenges in 2014
By Kamal Chomani & Sarkawt Shamsulddin: 2014 will be a challenge for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) because people are expecting radical reforms from the new cabinet which should have already been formed; and people will not not accept anything less than a different and much improved governance from previous cabinets in which accountability, justice…
KDP finds it difficult to form a ‘puppet’ coalition government
By Mufid Abdulla: When the Gorran movement became the second political force following the 21st September 2013 parliamentary elections, the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) suffered a shock and it has still not come to terms with the changed political landscape in the south of Kurdistan. Previous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinets saw the KDP…
A Letter Shakes the Nation
By Kamal Chomani: Twitter: @KamalChomani Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, delayed a planned visit to the United States in protest at the US listing the KDP and PUK as terrorists. But have not they perpetuated terrorism in the past? In reality this was just an excuse to hide the failures of…
