2013 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election

The Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections of 2013 took place on 21 September 2013. It was the fourth legislative election in Kurdistan Region since 1992. The candidates were competing for a total of 111 seats out of which 11 seats were reserved for minorities. According to the Iraqi High Electoral Commission, there were 366 female and 736 male candidates for the elections. A total of 2,653,743 people were eligible to vote throughout the three provinces of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk of which 74% cast their ballots.

Kurdistan Region parliamentary election, 2013

21 September 2013
Total of 111 seats of the Kurdistan National Assembly 56 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Nechirvan Barzani Nawshirwan Mustafa Barham Salih Party KDP Gorran PUK Last election 30 25 29 Seats won 38 24 18 Seat change 8 1 11 Popular vote 743,984 476,736 350,500 Percentage 37.79 % 24.21 % 17.80%
Voting took place in the red and purple areas
Prime Minister before election Nechirvan Barzani KDP Elected Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani KDP

Run-up

The legislative elections together with presidential and provincial were originally planned for September 21. However, in the months leading to the elections the parliament extended Massoud Barzani’s term for another two years. Meanwhile, IHEC delayed the provincial elections until November 21. Under Kurdish Election law political parties were allowed to campaign from August 28 until September 17th, four days before voting. The Peshmerga and police voted on September 19, in order for them to be able to guard the voting polls on September 21.

The election marked the first time the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan were running as individual parties since 1992. The Kurdistan Democratic Party was expected to win the most votes. The party has had a strong backing in the provinces of Duhok and Erbil and no challengers. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan meanwhile was facing competition from the Movement for Change. The Movement for Change had in the previous elections secured a surprising 25 seats in Sulaymaniyah, which had until then been a stronghold for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan also faced uncertainty due to internal conflicts and the absence of its leader Jalal Talabani who was recovering from a stroke.

Clashes

On 5 September, a gunman opened fire on a campaign rally by the Movement for Change in the city of Sulaymaniyah, wounding one person. In the same week, clashes broke out between the opposition Movement for Change and PUK and KDP supporters that led to 12 people, mostly policemen, being wounded.

Notable participating entities

List No		Party	Kurdish Name	Party Leaders
	101	Kurdistan Islamic Movement	بزوتنەوەی ئیسلامیی کوردستان Bizûtinewey Îslamiy Kurdistan	Shaykh Uthman Abd-Aziz
	102	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan	یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان Yekêtiy Nîştimaniy Kurdistan	Jalal Talabani
	103	Kurdistan Conservative Party	پارتی پارێزگارانی کوردستان Partî Parêzgaranî Kurdistan	Zaid Surchi
	104	Kurdistan Islamic Group	کۆمەڵی ئیسلامی کوردستان-عێراق Komelley Îslamiy Kurdistaê / Îraq	Ali Bapir
	105	Kurdistan Islamic Union	یەکگرتووی ئیسلامیی کوردستان Yekgirtûy Îslamiy Kurdistan	Mohammed Faraj
	106	Reform and Development List	لیستی چاکسازی و گەشە Lîstî Çaksazî u Geşe
	107	Communist Party of Kurdistan – Iraq (Freedom List)	ئازادی Partî Azadî	Kamal Shakir
	108	Future Party	ئایندە Hizbî Ayinde
	109	Democratic National Union of Kurdistan	یەکێتی نەتەوەیی دیموکراتی کوردستان Yekêtiy Neteweyiy Dîmukratî Kurdistan
	110	Kurdistan Democratic Party	پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان Partî Dîmukratî Kurdistan	Massoud Barzani
	111	Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party	حزبی سۆسیالیست دیموکراتی کوردستان Hizbî Sosyal Dîmukratî Kurdistan	Mohammad Hajji Mahmoud
	113	Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party	پارتی چارەسەری دیموکراتی کوردستان Partî Çareserî Dîmukratî Kurdistan	Diyar Gharib and Nadjibeh Umar
	115	Third Direction	ئاڕاستەی سێیەم Arrastey Sêyem
	116	People'e Rights' List	مافی گەل Lîstî Mafî Gel
	117	Movement for Change	گۆڕان Bizûtinewey Gorran	Nawshirwan Mustafa
	118	The Rights of People of Kurdistan	لیستی مافەکانی خەڵکی کوردستان Mafekanî Xellkî Kurdistan
	119	The Independents	لیستی سەربەخۆکان Serbexokan
	120	Turkmen Change and Renewal	گۆڕان و نوێبوونەوەی تورکمان Gorran u Nwêbûnewey Turkman
	121	Erbil Turkmen List	لیستی ھەولێری تورکمانی Lîstî Turkmanî Hewlêr
	122	Iraqi Turkmen Front	بەرەی تورکمانی عێراقی Berey Turkmanî Êraq	Sadettin Ergeç
	123	Turkmen Democratic Movement	لیستی بزووتنەوەی دیموکراتی تورکمان Lîstî Bizûtinewey Dîmukratî Turkman
	124	Turkmen Development List	لیستی پێشکەوتووی تورکمان Lîstî Pêşkewtûy Turkman
	126	Assyrian Democratic Movement	لیستی میسۆپۆتامیا Kurranî Dû Rûbareke	Yonadam Kanna
	127	Chaldean Syriac Assyrian United List	لیستی کۆمەڵەی کلدان و سریان و ئاشوورییەکان Girdbûnewey Kildanî Siryanî Aşûrî	Sarkis Aghajan

Results

See also: List of members of the Kurdistan Region Parliament (2013–)

No party won enough votes to form a government outright. The Kurdistan Democratic Party won the most votes in Erbil and Duhok. The province of Sulaymaniyah was heavily divided. The Movement for Change won the second most votes which made it the prime partner for the Kurdistan Democratic Party to form a coalition with. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, unexpectedly, lost more than a third of its seats.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan announced that it respected the results. Soon after the announcement high-ranking member of the party resigned accepting responsibility for the bad results. Both Islamists and socialists made gains. A total of 77 men and 34 women were elected.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	743,984	38.15	38	+8
	Gorran Movement	476,173	24.42	24	–1
	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan	350,500	17.97	18	–11
	Kurdistan Islamic Union	186,741	9.58	10	+4
	Kurdistan Islamic Group	118,575	6.08	6	+2
	Kurdistan Islamic Movement	21,834	1.12	1	–1
	Kurdistan Social Democratic Party	12,501	0.64	1	–1
	Communist Party of Kurdistan – Iraq	12,392	0.64	1	0
	Kurdistan Toilers' Party	8,681	0.45	1	+1
	Future Party	3,868	0.20	0	–1
	Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party	3,605	0.18	0	New
	Rights of People of Kurdistan	2,817	0.14	0	0
	Kurdistan Conservative Party	2,420	0.12	0	0
	People's Rights List	2,005	0.10	0	New
	Democratic National Union of Kurdistan	1,717	0.09	0	0
	Reform and Development List	1,323	0.07	0	New
	The Independents	868	0.04	0	New
Total		1,950,004	100.00	100	0
Turkmen minority reserved seats
	Turkmen Development List	5,259	44.23	2	New
	Erbil Turkmen	1,951	16.41	1	0
	Turkmen Change and Renewal	1,926	16.20	1	New
	Iraqi Turkmen Front	1,753	14.74	1	0
	Turkmen Democratic Movement	1,002	8.43	0	–3
Total		11,891	100.00	5	0
Assyrian minority reserved seats
	Assyrian Democratic Movement	6,345	48.19	2	0
	Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council	5,730	43.52	2	–1
	Sons of Mesopotamia	1,091	8.29	1	New
Total		13,166	100.00	5	0
Armenian minority reserved seats
	Yervant Aminian	531	52.37	1	New
	Aram Shahin Davud Bakoyan	227	22.39	0	–1
	Ishkhan Arshak Kevorkian	197	19.43	0	New
	Nubar Siban Gharib Qurban	59	5.82	0	New
Total		1,014	100.00	1	0
Source: Ekurd, Ishar TV

Results by governorate

Party	Silêmanî	Hawlêr	Dahuk	Total
Kurdistan Democratic Party	92,500	340,668	310,816	743,984
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan	234,252	91,072	25,176	350,500
Gorran Movement	333,961	130,000	12,775	476,736
Kurdistan Islamic Union	84,081	46,000	56,660	186,741
Kurdistan Islamic Group	67,285	46,300	4,814	118,399
Other	6,401	52,448	33,566	92,415
Total:	818,480	706,488	443,807	1,968,775

External links

• Official Full results