October elections scatter the Gorran Movement's hawks

October elections scatter the Gorran Movement's hawks
2021-10-15T20:45:33+00:00

Shafaq News / After failing to win a single parliamentary seat, the Kurdish Gorran Movement returned empty-handed from the Iraqi early legislative elections held on October 10. A fatal blow to the movement that fought the electoral race with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (P.U.K.) within the Kurdistan Alliance, resulting in the mass resignation of the executive body, the first decision-maker, in the movement.

During a meeting held by the Gorran Movement last Wednesday, the leadership took responsibility for the defeat in the elections, the resignation, and the formation of another interim administration.

But private sources told Shafaq News agency, "Wednesday's meeting came under pressure from the movement's central leaders, which produced the collective resignation."

"Before the decision to resign, the movement voted on two issues, the first of which was the formation of an interim committee until the general conference of the movement was held, which was approved by all members of the executive branch," the sources said.

"The vote to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government (K.R.G.) and the local government in al-Sulaymaniyah was denied by most of the members, as participation in the governments of the Region and al-Sulaymaniyah had nothing to do with the Iraqi elections," the sources added.

The Gorran Movement was founded in 2009 by Kurdish politician, Nosherawan Mustafa, after resigning from the P.U.K, and is an active political party in Kurdistan. 

In the 2014 Iraqi Parliament elections, the Gorran Movement won nine seats and a second deputy speaker, compared to only five in the 2018 elections, before being totally defeated in the 2021 elections.

"Members of the administrative body of the Gorran Movement will be elected or appointed by the National Council and the General Council of the Movement," the sources said, noting the intention of the movement's National Council to return some members who previously left, such as Dr. Yusuf Mohammed, leader Mahmoud Haji Osman, and other leaders of the movement's first row.

The Gorran Movement has lost not only the Iraqi elections but also its political and public entity, according to Kurdish political observer Horas Ahmed, who attributed it to the movement's inaccurate steps during the past period, its preoccupation with political positions and deals, as well as its distance from the demands of the street and the aspirations of the public.

Speaking to Shafaq News agency, Ahmed said that there would be, "A new defection from some of the Movement's members or the formation of an opposition wing, as happened in the P.U.K. after the death of the party's founder Jalal Talabani," noting, "The movement lost a lot of influential leaders which was the reason for its loss in the October elections."

Political activist Fakhir Ezzedine stated that the movement now does not have any public assets in al-Sulaymaniyah and needs radical party reforms, which require a long time for the public to trust."

"The movement has previously called for political and government reforms, but it has proven that it needs these reforms," Ezzedine told Shafaq News agency.

He also pointed, "The formation of the Kurdistan Alliance with the P.U.K. was the last straw that broke the camel's back because the movement's alliance with a union that is already suffering from internal issues was a suicide to Gorran."

The Gorran Movement contested in the parliamentary elections as a part of the Kurdistan Alliance with the P.U.K. The alliance had won 16 seats; none of them, however, was for the movement.

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