Week Three Election Report

"Change" Fights Back

Shkow Sharif

After a poor second week the “Change” list has seized the initiative in week three while the Kurdistani List has kept the bar high by continuing with campaign tactics employed in week two. This week has also been characterised by hearsay regarding a coalition between the list of the Four Party Coalition and the “Change” list in the next parliament.

Almost as soon as the Week Two Report was filed the ‘Change’ list had begun their fight back against the “Kurdistani” List. The Kurdish News Network (KNN), Nawshirwan Mustafa’s television channel, had received reports of a serious election blunder by the Kurdish President and leader of a branch of the “Kurdistani” List. The List had accidently used the image of a mother of a Kurdish martyr as part of Massoud Barzanis propaganda war. Unfortunately for the President he had forgotten to ask for her permission first. The mother, who turned out to be a strong advocate of the “Change” list had decided to file an eight minute video criticising the decision to use her photo, which was on many instances aimed directly at the president and was gladly aired by KNN. This forced the “Kurdistani” List to remove all the posters and left Massoud Barzani personally deeply embarrassed and left an unforgettable mark on his and his lists campaign.

Week three also saw a response by the “Change” List to the mass rallies that had been conducted by the “Kurdistani” List. The “Change” list on Tuesday put on a major rally outside their base in the town of Chamchamal, which is considered one of the strong holds of the “Change” List. The rally was broadcast on KNN along with numerous other rallies across the Kurdish Region. The win here was also that the “Change” List was able to respond to the “Kurdistani” Lists celebrity endorsement, by flaunting there celebrity backing, the famous Kurdish Poet and writer, Farhad Sangawi and the famous Kurdish Veteran Mam (uncle) Rostam. However, The “Kurdistani” List keeping up the pressure also held mass rallies in the region attended by the Iraqi President and leader of the PUK Jalal Talabani, most notably in the town of Ranya.

The next major PR win for the “Change” List came in midweek, among major sandstorms and a cancelled visit by American Vice-President Joe Biden. Failing to reach the Kurdish Region from Baghdad due to the intensity of the sandstorms the Vice-President, amid complaints by Arab and Kurdish opposition, advised the Kurdish leaders that the Kurdish Draft Constitution in its current form was not acceptable and needed a rethink. This along with the Iraqi Electoral Commissions refusal to allow the vote to go ahead on the 25th July forced the issue to go back through the KRG parliament for a vote on its delay, which passed.

The delaying of the controversial draft constitution, which the “Change” list since campaigning had begun had fiercely opposed due to a number of articles which they argued gave the president too much power, gave the “Change” list a chance to boast its national and international connections. It also fuelled their propaganda war showing to the Kurdish people that they could and would get things done, while at the same time demonstrating the inability of the “Kurdistani” list.

Having said all this, the “Kurdistani” List have used the week to take advantage of their numerous television channels. They have fought a vicious television campaign taking advantage of and credit for much of the progress that has been made in the Kurdish region.

The last point to note is the circling rumours that if the “Change” list fails to win an outright majority, which many outside the “Change” list will argue is highly unlikely; they are willing to form a coalition with the list of the Four Party Coalition which is expected to make major gains this year. The hope here is that this will tip the coalition over the majority needed to form the next government or allow them to form a major opposing force against the “Kurdistani” List.