KDP Wins Iraqi Kurdish Parliamentary Election, Commission Says

Employees of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) count votes at the end of the parliamentary election, at a polling station in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, on October 20, 2024.
Employees of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) count votes at the end of the parliamentary election, at a polling station in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, on October 20, 2024.
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KDP Wins Iraqi Kurdish Parliamentary Election, Commission Says

Employees of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) count votes at the end of the parliamentary election, at a polling station in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, on October 20, 2024.
Employees of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) count votes at the end of the parliamentary election, at a polling station in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, on October 20, 2024.

The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) came first in a parliamentary election in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, winning 39 seats, the election commission said on Wednesday, positioning it to lead the next regional government.

The KDP's historic rival and junior coalition partner in government, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was second with 23 seats, the commission told a news conference.

It said turnout among registered voters was reported at 72%.

The Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament has 100 seats with five reserved for minority groups.

With opposition parties weak, the KDP and PUK, which have been sharing power since 1992, are likely to continue governing together, but the results suggest that Masoud Barzani's KDP will take a dominant position.

Originally planned for 2022, the elections were repeatedly delayed by disputes between the KDP and PUK.

Unresolved disagreements between the two major political parties are expected to complicate the formation of a new government, analysts and regional officials expect.

The largest Kurdish opposition party, New Generation, was a distant third with 15 seats.



Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

Israeli forces have blocked supply routes to the southern Lebanese border city of al-Khiam ahead of storming it.

They have also surrounded the strategic city with Hezbollah fighters still inside, launching artillery and air attacks against them.

Hezbollah fighters have been holding out in Khiam for 25 days. The capture of the city would be significant and allow Israeli forces easier passage into southern Lebanon.

Field sources said Israeli forces have already entered some neighborhoods of Khiam from its eastern and southern outskirts, expanding their incursion into its northern and eastern sectors to fully capture the city.

They cast doubt on claims that the city has been fully captured, saying fighting is still taking place deeper inside its streets and alleys, citing the ongoing artillery fire and drone and air raids.

Israel has already cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes by seizing control of Bourj al-Mamlouk, Tall al-Nahas and olive groves in al-Qlaa in the Marayoun region. Its forces have also fanned out to the west towards the Litani River.

The troops have set up a “line of fire” spanning at least seven kms around Khiam to deter anti-tank attacks from Hezbollah and to launch artillery, drone and aerial attacks, said the sources.

The intense pressure has forced Hezbollah to resort to suicide drone attacks against Israeli forces.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television said Israeli forces tried to carry out a new incursion towards Khiam’s northern neighborhoods.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that since Friday night, Israeli forces have been using “all forms of weapons in their attempt to capture Khiam, which Israel views as a strategic gateway through which it can make rapid ground advances.”

It reported an increase in air and artillery attacks in the past two days as the forces try to storm the city.

The troops are trying to advance on Khiam by first surrounding it from all sides under air cover, it continued.

They are also booby-trapping some homes and buildings and then destroying them, similar to what they have done in other southern towns, such as Adeisseh, Yaround, Aitaroun and Mais al-Jabal.

Khiam holds symbolic significance to the Lebanese people because it was the first city liberated following Israel’s implementation of United Nations Security Council 425 on May 25, 2000, that led to its withdrawal from the South in a day that Hezbollah has since declared Liberation Day.