SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ) – Democratic Faili: We are concerned from preventing our votes abroad

Sunday, 02 March 2014 – Shafaq News / The head of the Faili Kurdish Democratic Union expressed on Sunday , its concern from repeating the case of preventing their votes abroad despite the approval of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC)

for their participation in the previous parliamentary elections , expressing optimism of the victory of a large number of Faili candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections .Majid Jafar Rashid told “Shafaq News”, Faili Kurds abroad and especially in Sweden are concerned from repeating the experience of previous elections and preventing their voted that were not counted by IHEC, although the   President of IHEC was a Faili Kurd.

He added that Faili Kurds abroad follow what is happening in their country and are affected by current events and crises in Iraq .Regarding the chances of Faili Kurds to win seats in the next parliament , Jafar said that “the indicators and enthusiasm dominated today by Faili Kurds make us hope to win a large number of Faili Kurds candidates in the upcoming elections .”

Rashid , one of the Faili candidates for the upcoming elections said that the Faili Kurds inside the country are distributed within parties and multiple blocs and there are no differences among them , but the differences among the political blocs are reflected on the reality of Faili Kurds . The Iraqi parliament had voted on its elections law by increasing the number of seats to 228 seats, 10 which are compensatory , 8 for quota , 5 for Christians and one for each of Mandaeans , Yazidis and Shabak .Faili Kurds has not been allocated any seats despite repeated claims . Despite not allocating quota for them , but the Faili political parties and blocs began early preparations by forming electoral lists or alliance with other blocs to contest parliamentary elections . Faili Kurds are Shiites and there are no official statistics on the number of Faili Kurds in Iraq, especially in light of the circumstances experienced by this community of displacement and not recognizing them as Iraqi people.