The recent parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan held on 20 October, have ignited significant controversy, as several opposition parties alleging widespread fraud, however, Iraq's electoral body and other Kurdish political parties deny the claims.
Despite reassurances from Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), four opposition parties—Komal (Kurdistan Justice Group), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the People's Front (Baray Gal), and the National Stance Movement (Halwest)—have rejected the preliminary outcomes, claiming they have evidence of tampering.
The elections mark the sixth general vote since the Kurdistan Region gained autonomy in 1991 and follow a ruling by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court in May 2023, which dissolved the Kurdish parliament and called for fresh elections. Supervised by IHEC, this vote had already been delayed due to political infighting, and now faces further scrutiny amid fraud accusations.
Allegations of electoral fraud
The opposition parties claimed that the election results were manipulated to favour the two main ruling parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as well as the New Generation Movement, the main opposition party in the region.
According to IHEC's preliminary results, the KDP emerged with 809,197 votes, followed by the PUK with 408,141 votes, while the New Generation Movement garnered 290,991 votes.
However, leaders of the four opposition parties contend that these figures are inaccurate.
"We are currently in the stage of collecting and analysing evidence, and we are closely investigating the existing evidence," Bestun Hama Saleh, head of Komal's election and statistics office, said at a joint press conference following a meeting among the four parties.
He further stated that they will soon present their findings to both the Iraqi parliament and relevant institutions.
Fenik Mohammed, head of Baray Gal's election institution, also expressed doubt over the integrity of the results. "The vote tampering and fraud had a significant impact on the overall vote count for the various parties. As Baray Gal, we are certain that the announced results do not reflect our true vote," she said.
These opposition parties have suggested that electronic tampering was responsible for the discrepancies, particularly in the vote counts for the ruling parties.
"We think wide-scale voter fraud has been conducted via a special electronic programme," Omar Gulpi, head of Komal's electoral list in Sulaimaniyah, told The New Arab.
He questioned the sudden surge in votes for the KDP and PUK, pointing to their recent track record of governance failures.
One of the key issues raised by the opposition is the alleged nullification of over 210,000 votes, many of which they believe were cast in their favour. Ali Hama Saleh, leader of the National Stance Movement, voiced concerns about this during an interview with TNA.
"We have certain candidates who documented casting votes at certain voting centres, but their votes are missing," he said.
"It is illogical that the ruling parties, given their poor governance over the last four years, saw their vote counts increase by more than 229,000," he argued, stressing that the results do not reflect the level of dissatisfaction among voters.
The opposition parties intend to file official complaints with IHEC once the final results are published, and there is talk of bringing the case before Iraq's Federal Supreme Court. However, Hama Saleh was sceptical about this option, noting that "even if lawsuits are filed, it will take a long time to reach a verdict."
Despite these accusations, the PUK has notably refrained from commenting on the matter. When approached by TNA, PUK spokesperson Saedi Ahmed Pira declined to respond to the allegations of voter fraud.
IHEC defends the process
For its part, IHEC has stood by the integrity of the electoral process, asserting that both electronic and manual vote counting were used to ensure transparency.
"We are now classifying complaints filed by representatives of political parties and NGOs," Jumana al-Ghalai, spokesperson for IHEC, told TNA. She stressed that IHEC's procedures were in line with international standards and any complaints would be thoroughly investigated before final results were announced.
Al-Ghalai further emphasised that IHEC is committed to transparency and would provide political parties with the necessary documents to verify the vote. "This is the duty of IHEC, and it proves IHEC's integrity in running the voting process transparently, impartially, and as per international standards," she added.
On the other side, the KDP rejected claims of fraud. Ari Harsin, head of the KDP's fourth branch in Sulaimaniyah, stated, "We as the KDP see the election process as very positive. The voting was held in a stable condition, and none of the political parties increased the burdens of the people of Kurdistan."
Shaswar Abdulwahid, leader of the New Generation Movement, refuted allegations of his party's involvement in voter fraud during a press conference on Thursday attended by TNA. He dismissed the claims as being "spread by small parties aligned with the ruling powers."
Abdulwahid further stated that his party had submitted 112 complaints to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), asserting that they were also victims of voter fraud, and are awaiting the outcome of their complaints and the final election results.
When asked about potential participation in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Abdulwahid stated that his party would only join the government if the post of prime minister, long held by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was given to them.
He also encouraged voters to register and actively participate in Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for next year. In response to a question from TNA about whether he supports amending Iraq's election law, Abdulwahid expressed confidence that his party would secure more votes regardless of any changes to the law.
Adding to the complexity of the situation are rumours that neighbouring countries, particularly Turkey and Iran, may have played a role in influencing the election results. While these claims remain speculative, they underscore the region's susceptibility to external political pressures, given its strategic importance.
Election monitoring groups, however, have offered a more measured perspective.
Hogr Chato, head of the Shams Network for election monitoring, told TNA that, in their assessment, the election was conducted fairly. "Despite the allegations by political parties, we did not find any proof that the elections were rigged via electronic programmes. We think all those allegations are within political speculations," he said.
As the final results are yet to be announced and opposition parties prepare to escalate their claims through legal channels, whether these elections were rigged remains unresolved. What is certain is that the accusations of fraud have deepened the divisions within Iraqi Kurdistan's already fractious political landscape.