Windstorm hits al-Sulaymaniyah, scatters election campaign banners
Shafaq News/ A powerful windstorm struck al-Sulaymaniyah on the night of September 25 to 26, 2024, causing widespread damage and directly impacting the electoral campaign for the sixth parliament of the Kurdistan Region.
With wind speeds reaching approximately 50 km/h, the storm ripped apart numerous campaign posters for candidates and political parties displayed throughout the city.
Shafaq News Agency’s correspondent reported that the storm affected all political parties and candidates without exception. “Some banners were completely torn, while others were damaged, occurring just on the second day of the election campaign, disrupting the candidates’ promotional activities.”
The storm followed a period of stable weather, with strong winds being the primary cause of the damages. This adverse weather presents an additional challenge for candidates who are racing to secure voter support amidst an active election climate.
These elections come at a politically sensitive time, with Kurdish parties vying for seats amidst intense competition among various lists and candidates. Campaigns heavily rely on posters and public signage to promote candidates and their electoral programs.
Observers have expressed concerns that strong wind gusts could be exploited by certain individuals to deliberately vandalize campaign posters across the Kurdistan Region, not just in al-Sulaymaniyah, as part of efforts to undermine specific electoral campaigns. These concerns are heightened due to the political sensitivity that often accompanies elections, where storms could be used as a pretext to conceal actions aimed at damaging particular candidates or negatively impacting the public image of certain parties.
Observers are calling on relevant authorities to intensify monitoring of the electoral campaigns to prevent such practices and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
On Wednesday, Head of the Electoral Commission, Judge Omar Ahmed Mohammed, declared the official launch of the campaign, lasting until October 15.
Judge Mohammed noted that 1,190 candidates are running for office, representing 136 electoral lists. He also announced the formation of a special committee by the IHEC to monitor the campaign and address any violations.
Back in June, President Nechirvan Barzani issued a Regional decree setting October 20, 2024, as the official date for the Kurdistan parliamentary elections.
Elections for Kurdistan’s parliament, originally scheduled for 2022, were set for June 10. However, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has the parliamentary majority, announced it would boycott the election in protest of a ruling issued by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court.
This court decided to cancel 11 seats reserved for minority groups, including Turkmen, Assyrians, Christians, and Armenians, reducing the number of Regional Parliament seats to 100.
The ruling also changed the electoral system, dividing the Kurdistan Region into four constituencies instead of the single-constituency system used in the 2018 elections.
The federal court ruling also gave authority to the Iraqi IHEC to organize and oversee Regional elections instead of the Kurdish Regional Election Commission.
In late May, the federal court issued a new ruling restoring five seats reserved for minorities, a move that Kurdish officials said helped ease tensions and convinced the KDP to agree to participate in the October elections.
The October vote is expected to elect 100 new lawmakers representing the governorates of Iraqi Kurdistan: Erbil (34 seats, including one for Christians and one for Turkmen), Halabja (three seats), Al-Sulaymaniyah (38 seats, including one for Christians and one for Turkmen), and Duhok (25 seats, including one for Christians).
