“In Kurdistan, politics have achieved what many think impossible in the Middle east: effective and functional representative democracy that respects the rights of the citizenry it serves.”
Kurdish politics in Iraq are not dominated by one political party or a single political philosophy. However, most Kurdish political parties are bound by a shared sense of Kurdish nationalism and a belief in the Kurdish right to self-determination. While they will work with and take part in the Baghdad government under the current Iraqi political system, the separateness of the Kurdish people and desire for independence and peace are immutable.
The two main political parties in Kurdistan are the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). While traditionally opposed on certain philosophical points, the KDP and PUK formed a unity government that holds the majority in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) parliament. The KDP and PUK also are members of the governing coalition in Baghdad.
The KDP is the older and more powerful of the two main political parties, having been founded in 1946 by Mustafa Barzani in the Mahabad Republic in Iran. The KDP’s positions and governing philosophy are defined by Kurdish nationalism, self-determination, populism, and conservatism. The KDP is open to forming alliances to advance their causes and welcomes smaller parties with similar but not identical positions and philosophies.
The KDP’s main base of support is in northern Iraqi Kurdistan. The KDP holds 38 of 111 seats in the KRG’s parliament and 25 of the 328 seats in Iraq’s Council of Representatives. The KDP is currently led by Masoud Barzani, the son of Mustafa Barzani, who currently also serves as the President of Iraqi Kurdistan. Masoud Barzani’s cousin, Nechervan Idris Barzani, is the Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, and his son, Masrour Barzani, is the head of the Kurdistan regional security council.
The second most powerful and popular political party in Kurdistan is the PUK. Like the KDP, Kurdish nationalism is a central tenant of the PUK’s political philosophy; however, the PUK’s governing policies are marked by their belief in democratic-socialism, civic (progressive) nationalism, and secularism. The PUK’s main base of support is in southern Iraqi Kurdistan.
The PUK holds 19 of 111 seats in the KRG’s parliament and 21 of 328 seats in Iraq’s Council of Representatives. The PUK is currently led by Jalal Talabani, who helped found the party in 1975. Talabani served as Iraq’s President from 2005 to 2014 and was succeeded in office by another member of the PUK, Fuad Masum. As part of the power sharing between the KDP and the PUK, the KDP’s power is concentrated in governing the KRG; whereas the PUK’s is concentrated on the national level in Iraq.
The KDP and PUK, while dominant, are not free from opposition. In 2009, the Gorran movement emerged in opposition to the KDP-PUK power sharing arrangement in the KRG’s parliament. Like the KDP and PUK, Kurdish nationalism is central to Gorran. However, they have minor philosophical differences with their platform based on liberal-socialism. Gorran holds 24 of 111 seats in the KRG’s parliament and nine of 328 seats in Iraq’s Council of representatives, where it, along with the KDP and PUK, is a member of the Government Coalition.
A minority party within Kurdistan is the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), also referred to as Yekgirtu. As a Muslim Brother affiliate, the KIU is not as much Kurdish nationalist as it is pan-Islamic — it subscribes to a philosophy of Islamic democracy. KIU holds 10 seats of 111 in the KRG’s parliament and four seats of 328 in Iraq’s Council of Representatives.
There has been tension between KIU and KDP, most notably following a wave of violence in Zakho, a town on the border between Iraq and Turkey, in 2011. A KDP spokesman blamed the violence on a KIU affiliated cleric, who denied the allegations.
In the political middle ground between the KIU and KDP-PUK exists the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), which while subscribing to Islamic democracy, also believes in Kurdish nationalism and the Kurd’s right to self-determination. The KIG holds six seats of 111 in the KRG’s parliament and three seats of 328 in Iraq’s Council of Representatives.
Within the KRG’s parliament there are four other non-minority political parties, each holding one seat: the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Social Democrat Party, the Kurdistan Communist Party, and the Kurdistan Toilers Party. Additionally, there are 11 of 111 seats reserved for ethnic minorities within Kurdistan: five seats for Turkmen, five seats for Assyrians, and one seat for Armenians.
The political landscape in Kurdistan is diverse and political discourse is relatively free and open. There is not widespread persecution based on political beliefs or affiliation. There is a high degree of respect for the rule of law, as created by the people’s representatives in the KRG’s parliament. This parliament is selected in regularly scheduled free and fair elections. In Kurdistan, politics have achieved what many think impossible in the Middle east: effective and functional representative democracy that respects the rights of the citizenry it serves.
