Saadi Ahmed Pire: Kurds Would Have Had More Seats in Kirkuk If United

Interviews 10:56 PM - 2023-12-21

Spokesman of PUK

In an interview with PUKMEDIA, Saadi Ahmed Pire, the Spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said: "If the Kurdish parties had not wasted their votes, the Kurds would have received over 40,000 votes in Kirkuk today. At that moment, the Kurds could have easily gained one or two more seats."

"The nomination of a Kurdish governor will benefit all communities in Kirkuk since he or she will be the governor of all communities in Kirkuk, including Arabs, Christians, and others, rather than just the Kurds and the PUK," he also said.

The following is the full interview:

Q: How does the PUK deal with other Kurdish parties?

We work with Kurdish and Arab parties, particularly in Kirkuk and Mosul, to leverage their influence and secure a prominent role in the administration of these provinces. This is in recognition of the Kurdish people's historical and ongoing contributions to the federal government's mission in Iraq. 

Due to the appointment of an acting governor, Kirkuk previously witnessed the implementation of Saddam Hussein's regime strategy of relocation. He wanted to carry out the decolonization policy with our explicit permission. Such people, in my opinion, cannot serve in Kirkuk; however, those who actively fought for Iraq's liberation, particularly Kurds and specifically the PUK, are well-equipped to serve in this capacity. As a result, the appointment of a Kurdish governor will benefit all of Kirkuk's communities. Instead of just the Kurds and the PUK, the governor will rule over all communities in Kirkuk, including Arabs, Christians, and everyone else. The authoritarian governor's rule has recently exacerbated certain issues in Kirkuk; thus, this must be stopped, and the owners' rights must be restored. The futile attempts to manipulate Kirkuk's demographic composition must also end, as the Kurds have not become a minority despite their long efforts. As a result, following the publication of the election results, all Kurdish parties should prioritise restoring rights to their original owners.

Q: As we have seen, a significant number of citizens, particularly Kurds, did not vote due to the inability to scan their fingerprints. Has the PUK filed a lawsuit in this regard?

MPs from Kirkuk and other parties appear to have filed complaints with official government agencies. I believe the devices are the same, having been upgraded each time they claim to have brought in new equipment for which they have spent a significant amount of money over a long period. As a result, the prime ministers of the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad must work together to alter these devices completely. Despite the difficulty of rigging this election, several of their devices malfunctioned, contributing to fraud and causing some Kurdish votes to be lost.

Q: Before the election, the PUK urged Kurdish parties to form a unified coalition to secure a majority of votes in Kirkuk. The majority of parties, however, have rejected the PUK's request. As a result, many Kurdish votes were lost. What are the PUK's next moves to ensure Kurdish dominance in the provincial council?

Unfortunately, we are currently seeing the consequences of this lack of cohesion. We are currently debating how to proceed when the votes are tied, and the task at hand is quite difficult, with the Kurdish parties being the primary cause of this predicament. The PUK initially informed the parties that the vote-counting process and mechanism favoured the larger parties and groups. No votes would be lost if the Kurds engaged in the disputed areas used a single electoral list. If the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the New Generation, the Islamic parties, and the socialists had not squandered those votes, the Kurds in Kirkuk would now have over 40,000 votes. It would have been relatively simple for the Kurds to secure at least one or two more seats. We would have nine seats if the Kurds banded together. However, while I am pleased that the Kurds have won the majority of votes in both Mosul and Kirkuk provinces, I am deeply disappointed that we have additional votes that we were unable to use.

 

 

PUKMEDIA