Ninawa governorate election, 2009
Encyclopedia
The Ninawa governorate
election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates
outside Iraqi Kurdistan
and Kirkuk
.
.
In May 2008, arrest warrants were issued against a number of KDP council members who were accused of involvement in an assassination ring headed by the deputy leader of the KDP. The ring allegedly assassinated 900 people including a prominent Imam, two former senior officials of the Baath party
, doctors and university professors. They were also accused of funnelled money and logistical help to al Qaeda in Iraq, in order to persuade the predominantly Arab residents to turn over security to the Kurdish Peshmerga
.
al-Hadba
complained of being targeted by Kurdish security forces. They accused the Kurdish parties of fraud in the 2005 election
and, together with other non-Kurdish groups asked for federal troops to UN monitors to protect the voting centres. A candidate for the Sunni Arab "Iraq for Us" coalition was killed by a gunman who walked into a cafe and shot him. Just before the election another Sunni Arab candidate, this time from the National Unity List, was killed outside his home in Mosul.
Al-Hadba called for the removal of Kurdish peshmerga
forces from Ninawa, saying many of the province's insurgent groups would become law-abiding after that. The Iraqi Islamic Party said the peshmerga should be replaced by the Iraqi Army within six months.
, a member of the Council of Representatives of Iraq and a supporter of the al-Hadba party, claimed that they had won 60% of the vote, with the Kurdish list gaining only 20%.
After the election, reports claimed that Assyrians had been fired from their jobs because they were suspected of not voting for the pro-Kurdish Ishtar Patriotic List
, which won the seat reserved for an Assyrian candidate.
Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa is a governorate in northern Iraq, and the Arabic name for the biblical city of Nineveh in Assyria. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient...
election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates
Governorates of Iraq
||Iraq is composed of 18 provinces :#Baghdād #Salāh ad-Dīn #Diyālā #Wāsit #Maysān #Al-Basrah #Dhī Qār #Al-Muthannā #Al-Qādisiyyah...
outside Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
and Kirkuk
Kirkuk
Kirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...
.
Background
Three seats on the council have been reserved for religious minorities: one for Christians, one for Yazidis and one for ShabakShabak
Sherut haBitachon haKlali , officially known by the acronym Shabak , officially known in English as Israel Security Agency , and commonly known in English as the Shin Bet , is Israel's internal security service. Its motto is "Magen VeLo Yera'e"...
.
In May 2008, arrest warrants were issued against a number of KDP council members who were accused of involvement in an assassination ring headed by the deputy leader of the KDP. The ring allegedly assassinated 900 people including a prominent Imam, two former senior officials of the Baath party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
, doctors and university professors. They were also accused of funnelled money and logistical help to al Qaeda in Iraq, in order to persuade the predominantly Arab residents to turn over security to the Kurdish Peshmerga
Peshmerga
Peshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...
.
Campaign
The main contest in Ninawa was between the incumbent Kurdish-backed governor and the al-Hadba party, formed by Sunni Arab tribal groups and backed by the Shiite Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. During the campaign the pro-Kurdish governor, Duraid Kashmoula, said he intended to leave Mosul, the city of his birth, after the election and retire to Kurdistan.al-Hadba
Al-Hadba
The al-Hadba party is an Arab nationalist political party formed to contest the Iraqi governorate elections, 2009 in Ninawa province. It is mostly made up of Sunni Arabs. Its leading member Atheel al-Najafi is brother of Usama al-Najafi who is part of the Iraqi National List led by former Iraqi...
complained of being targeted by Kurdish security forces. They accused the Kurdish parties of fraud in the 2005 election
Ninawa governorate council election, 2005
The Governorate Council election in the Ninawa governorate of Iraq was held on January 30, 2005, simultaneously with the national legislative election. The province is largely a mix of Sunnis and Kurds, but there is also a significant Shi'ite presence...
and, together with other non-Kurdish groups asked for federal troops to UN monitors to protect the voting centres. A candidate for the Sunni Arab "Iraq for Us" coalition was killed by a gunman who walked into a cafe and shot him. Just before the election another Sunni Arab candidate, this time from the National Unity List, was killed outside his home in Mosul.
Al-Hadba called for the removal of Kurdish peshmerga
Peshmerga
Peshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...
forces from Ninawa, saying many of the province's insurgent groups would become law-abiding after that. The Iraqi Islamic Party said the peshmerga should be replaced by the Iraqi Army within six months.
Results
Usama al-NajafiUsama al-Najafi
Usama Abdu'l Aziz al-Nujayfi is an Iraqi politician from the Iraqi National List who was Minister of Industry in the Iraqi Transitional Government...
, a member of the Council of Representatives of Iraq and a supporter of the al-Hadba party, claimed that they had won 60% of the vote, with the Kurdish list gaining only 20%.
After the election, reports claimed that Assyrians had been fired from their jobs because they were suspected of not voting for the pro-Kurdish Ishtar Patriotic List
Ishtar Patriotic List
The Isthar Patriotic List is an Iraqi-Assyrian political list that was formed to run in the Iraqi governorate elections, 2009....
, which won the seat reserved for an Assyrian candidate.