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Political Divisions Threaten to Scupper Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections

An Iraqi Kurd marches with a Kurdish flag during a protest in support of the Iraqi Kurdish leader, in Erbil, on October 30, 2017. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurd marches with a Kurdish flag during a protest in support of the Iraqi Kurdish leader, in Erbil, on October 30, 2017. (AFP)
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Political Divisions Threaten to Scupper Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections

An Iraqi Kurd marches with a Kurdish flag during a protest in support of the Iraqi Kurdish leader, in Erbil, on October 30, 2017. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurd marches with a Kurdish flag during a protest in support of the Iraqi Kurdish leader, in Erbil, on October 30, 2017. (AFP)

The sharp divisions between Kurdish parties over the formation of the federal government in Baghdad reflect the sharp divisions in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region that is bracing to hold parliamentary elections in October.

The lingering disputes have however, cast serious doubts that the polls will be staged.

Observers believe the elections are unlikely given the major obstacles, most notably the dispute over the electoral law and the need to either extend the term of the electoral commission or form a new one. The commission's term ended two years ago.

On the electoral law, the differences center on the Kurdish Democratic Party's (KDP) insistence on holding the elections according to the current law that divides Kurdistan into three electoral districts. The KDP is backed by various small parties, such as the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party and Communist Party of Kurdistan.

On the other end of the divide lies the so-called opposition, which includes the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), that is insisting on amending the electoral law so that it introduces several electoral districts. It is calling for adopting a law similar to the one adopted by Iraq for its October 2021 elections.

The KDP boasts 60 MPs in the 111-member Kurdish parliament, allowing it to obstruct the approvals of draft-laws, especially those related to the appointment of new members of the electoral commission or amending the electoral law.

Journalist Saman Nooh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the opposition believes that the current electoral law does not allow for fair representation at parliament. Rather, it allows the KDP to reap a comfortable majority.

He predicted that the ongoing disputes between the two camps over the electoral commission will ultimately prevent the elections from being held on time.

Moreover, parliament hardly ever convenes, which is another obstacle the forces need to overcome.

Head of the New Generation movement, Shaswar Abdulwahid appealed on Monday to the international community and federal government in Baghdad to intervene in Kurdistan and ensure that fair and transparent elections are held to end the political impasse and help the people.

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Video Shows Last Moments for Slain Gaza Aid Workers, Red Crescent Says

This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP
This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP
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Video Shows Last Moments for Slain Gaza Aid Workers, Red Crescent Says

This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP
This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP

A video recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers shows their final moments, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, with clearly marked ambulances and emergency lights flashing as heavy gunfire erupts.

The aid worker was among 15 humanitarian personnel who were killed on March 23 in an attack by Israeli forces, according to the United Nations and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The Israeli military has said its soldiers "did not randomly attack" any ambulances, insisting they fired on "terrorists" approaching them in "suspicious vehicles".

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said that troops opened fire on vehicles that had no prior clearance from Israeli authorities and had their lights off, AFP reported.

But the video released by PRCS on Saturday appears to contradict the Israeli military's claims, showing ambulances travelling with their headlights and emergency lights clearly flashing.

The six minute and 42 second video, apparently filmed from inside a moving vehicle, captures a red firetruck and ambulances driving through the night.

The vehicles stop beside another on the roadside, and two uniformed men exit. Moments later, intense gunfire erupts.

In the video, the voices of two medics are heard -- one saying, "the vehicle, the vehicle," and another responding: "It seems to be an accident."

Seconds later, a volley of gunfire breaks out, and the screen goes black.

PRCS said it had found the video on the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the deceased aid workers.

"This video unequivocally refutes the occupation's claims that Israeli forces did not randomly target ambulances, and that some vehicles had approached suspiciously without lights or emergency markings," PRCS said in a statement.

"The footage exposes the truth and dismantles this false narrative."

Those killed included eight PRCS staff, six members of the Gaza civil defence agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA.

Their bodies were found buried near Rafah in what the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described as a mass grave.

- Fear and prayers -

OCHA has said that the first team was targeted by Israeli forces at dawn on that day. In the hours that followed, additional rescue and aid teams searching for their colleagues were also struck in a series of successive attacks.

According to the PRCS, the convoy had been dispatched in response to emergency calls from civilians trapped under bombardment in Rafah.

In the video, a medic recording the scene can be heard reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, which Muslims traditionally say in the face of death.

"There is no God but God, Mohammed is his messenger," he says repeatedly, his voice trembling with fear as intense gunfire continues in the background.

He is also heard saying: "Forgive me mother because I chose this way, the way of helping people."

He then says, "accept my martyrdom, God, and forgive me." Just before the footage ends, he is heard saying, "The Jews are coming, the Jews are coming," referring to Israeli soldiers.

The deaths of the aid workers has sparked international condemnation.

Jonathan Whittall, the head of OCHA in the Palestinian territories, said the bodies of the humanitarian workers were "in their uniforms, still wearing gloves" when they were found.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, condemned the attack, raising concerns over possible "war crimes" by the Israeli military.

"I am appalled by the recent killings of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers, which raise further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military," Volker Turk told the UN Security Council on Thursday.

Turk called for an "independent, prompt and thorough investigation" into the attack.

An Israeli military official said the bodies had been covered "in sand and cloth" to avoid damage until coordination with international organizations could be arranged for their retrieval.

The military said it was investigating the attack.