KTP Supports PUK, Advocates Unity in Disputed Areas

PUKMEDIA

Rizgar Haji Hama and Bekas Qadir.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is willing to unite with other parties for Kirkuk and the disputed areas, and it is persistently attempting to meet with the Kurds in order to run on a single list in the Iraqi provincial elections. A member of the PUK Political Bureau stated, "Even if the PUK wins, we will all lose if the Kurds do not win." 

Rizgar Haji Hama, a member of the PUK Political Bureau and the head of the PUK Election Agency, stated at a press conference following a meeting with the Kurdistan Toilers' Party (KTP) in Erbil, "We want to put the Kurds in the lead by having all Kurdish forces and parties in the disputed areas run on the same list."

We need to be unified for the upcoming elections and have a common list, he continued, so that we can be formidable against our opponents.

"Party unity will increase Kurdish seats and votes, and as the PUK, we are ready to provide all assistance and support to serve all regions and not waste Kurdish votes because the Kurdish people have made many sacrifices for the disputed areas, as have all political forces and parties," he said.

"All of our achievements and sacrifices cannot be undone because a political party refuses to unite; we cannot hand over these areas to other communities because of Kurdish disputes," he added. "If other communities gain more seats than the Kurds, they will take power in these areas, and any political force or party that does not support Kurdish unity is clearly wishing to hand these areas back to the Arab community and other parties."

"We are confident of the PUK's victory, but even if we win, if the Kurds do not have more than nine seats in these areas, we have all lost," he said. It is crucial that we decide in a spirit of unity and brotherhood.

Bekas Qadir, a member of the KTP Political Bureau, stated, "We agree with the PUK that the Kurds should be united for the provincial elections in the disputed areas, because if we are not, we will lose a lot of votes, giving the other side an advantage."

"As the KTP, our top priority is to unite the Kurds in disputed areas, as we believe that if we do not, the Kurdish voice in those regions will be fragmented," Qadir explained.



PUKMEDIA