MENA WATCH KURDISTAN-IRAQ: Over 25 PUK Cadres Resign in Kirkuk Ahead of Parliamentary Elections

BASNEWS ERBIL — More than 25 cadres of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the disputed Kurdish province of Kirkuk resigned from the party on Tuesday, a statement said.

Dilan Salih, a member of PUK’s representation office in Kirkuk, told BasNews that he has submitted the resignation to the politburo of the PUK where a committee has been formed to investigate the issue.

He further explained that the resignation was due to the threatenings by the seniors, without further elaborating on the case.

“This is not acceptable for me,” Salih added, noting that 25 other people have handed in their resignations, and their statements will be published to the public soon.

The resignations come less than a month before the parliamentary elections in Iraq, for which Kirkuk is one the main disputed territories between Kurdistan and Iraq to compete for higher number votes.

The PUK has 18 seats at the 329-seat parliament of Iraq now. However, it hopes to see an increase in its influence in Kirkuk while running for the parliament this time in alliance with the Change Movement (Gorran).

According to the Kurds, there is no favorable situation for holding elections in Kirkuk now while thousands of Kurds have been forced out of the disputed province and replaced by non-indigenous Arabs, a process which they call “an extension to the Arabization Campaign of the Kurdish territories”.