Iraq’s new election officials: ‘lots of people question our abilities’
December 1, 2012 at 3:20 am | Posted in Turkmens | Leave a commentTags: IHEC, Iraq's Provincial Elections
niqash | Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | 29.11.2012
In September the new members of the much debated Independent High Electoral Commission were finally elected. Some say they’re not up to the job. But their spokesperson says they will run Iraq’s 2013 elections on time.
There has been plenty of debate and discussion as to whether Iraq’s provincial elections will be heldaccording to schedule early next year.
And new members have recently been elected to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (or IHEC), the body tasked with overseeing elections in the country.
The last committee departed somewhat ignominiously with several members, including the chairman, charged with corruption. The former chairman has said that he was not guilty and that the charges were a threat to the independence of the IHEC.
The United Nations’ Special Representative for Iraq, Martin Kobler, has emphasized the importance of the IHEC, saying that “IHEC is the most important guarantee of holding free and fair elections in Iraq, fundamental for safeguarding and sustaining the democratic process.”
The commission is now composed of four Shiite Muslims, two Sunnis, two Kurds and a Turkmen woman; the new head of the committee is a Kurd, Sarbast Mustafa Rasheed Amedi.
NIQASH talked to IHEC’s spokesperson, Safaa al-Moussawi, who is on the committee and who is also a member of current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s mainly Shiite Muslim, ruling party, about how the new commission is coping and whether elections would indeed be held as planned early next year.
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Iraqi Turkmen representatives’ letter to the Independent High Electoral Commission in Baghdad
February 19, 2010 at 10:07 am | Posted in Turkmens | Leave a commentTags: IHEC, Iraq's Parliamentary elections, ITF, ITF Representatives in Europe
IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT- EUROPEAN UNION REPRESENTATION
BRUSSELS-BELGIUM
IRAK TÜRKMEN CEPHESİ- AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ TEMSİLCİLİĞİ
BRÜKSEL-BELÇİKA
ممثلية الجبهة التركمانية العراقية لدى الاتحاد الأوربي
بروكسل- بلجيكا
Tel : +32 /(0) 495 44 06 29 +32/(0) 65 31 40 21
e-mail : htwalli@skynet.be website : www. Kerkuk.net
Brussels 18th February 2010.
To the attention of the President of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC): Baghdad – IRAQ
Copy to:-
The Director of the Office for the voting of the Iraqis living outside Iraq: IHEC office in Erbil-Iraq.
The Director of the Office responsible for the voting of the Iraqis in Holland: IHEC office in The Hague –The Netherlands.
Dear Sirs,
The Iraqi people are looking forward with great hope and high expectations to the next Parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on 7th March 2010 inside Iraq, and on 5th, 6th and 7th of March 2010 in 16 foreign countries for the voting of Iraqis living outside Iraq.
All patriotic Iraqis who love their country and aim at serving the Iraqi people by defending their rights and rebuilding their country after years of war, destruction and occupation, hope that these coming elections will be fair and clean, without any cheating, ballot rigging, manipulation, threats or intimidations which unfortunately took place in the past two parliamentary elections in Iraq.
Iraqis expect that these coming elections will take place in a peaceful and democratic environment so that the majority of them can participate and cast their votes during these elections, the results of which will hopefully reflect the true representation of all the components of the Iraqi people, without discrimination, marginalization or assimilation of any community, ethnic group or political organization representing any of the communities composing the Iraqi people.
This can only be achieved if the elections take place under the strict control and vigilant supervision of IHEC, with the participation of an adequate number of international observers, from the U.N., the E.U, and some well known and well established international NGOs which have experience in supervising elections and have been active in the field of promoting democracy in countries where its concept is relatively new and its application is still facing some problems and difficulties as in Iraq.
Your organization, the IHEC, bears a huge responsibility in making the coming Parliamentary elections a success by duly informing the Iraqi people, by effectively promoting the democratic process in Iraq, by doing your utmost in contributing to provide a peaceful environment during the electoral campaign as well as during the voting day all over Iraq.
It is of extreme importance that all Iraqi citizens can freely access to the polling centres to cast their votes for the list and for the candidate of their own free choice and then safely return to their homes after accomplishing their democratic duty.
We, the representatives of the Iraqi Turkmens’ political and civil society organizations in the European Union, in Turkey and in Syria have noticed and witnessed clear shortcomings of the IHEC with respect to informing the Turkmens in their own language (Turkish) even in areas and regions of Iraq which are densely populated by Turkmens, such as in the governorates of Mosul, Erbil, Kerkuk, Salah Al-din, Diyala and Baghdad.
Indeed, a few days ago we have seen on Turkmeneli TV an intolerable discrimination against the Turkmens during a meeting organized by IHEC to which some Turkmen civil society representatives had been invited, and for which IHEC had prepared booklets and banners written in Arabic, Kurdish and Assyrian only, and nothing in Turkish ! Even though the IHEC know very well that the Turkmens represent Iraq’s third main ethnic group and Kerkuk’s main ethnic community.
The above example is a flagrant violation of Turkmens’ constitutional rights, as the constitution recognises the Turkmens’ language (Turkish) as an official language in Iraq, wherever Turkmens represent a high density of population.
We, Turkmens, deplore this shortcoming and demand that from now on all publications by IHEC, related to the elections concerning the governorates and regions of Iraq where Turkmens live and represent the first, the second or the third community, be published also in the Turkish language alongside the other two official languages of Iraq (Arabic and Kurdish).
These electoral material and publications which are published by IHEC for the coming elections may include informative booklets, procedures, electoral lists, and posters.
We request that any such IHEC material also be sent to all foreign countries where the Turkmen Diaspora exists in great number and where elections will be organised such as in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Sweden, Turkey, UK, USA etc…
Participation to the next Parliamentary election is not only a fundamental right given to all Iraqi citizens above 18 years of age, but it is also the duty of all Iraqis who are eager to establish a true and solid democracy in Iraq.
We, Turkmen representatives in the European Union, Syria and Turkey, are doing our best in promoting the upcoming election and encouraging our community members and all our Iraqi compatriots to participate in the next election.
We aim at contributing to make this coming election a success, consolidating the political process and establishing a real democracy in Iraq.
We trust that you will respond positively to our legitimate requests soon and we wish you all the best and success in your important task.
May God help all patriotic and sincere citizens of Iraq.
Yours truly,
Dr. Hassan AYDINLI
Iraqi Turkmen Front
E.U. Representative
Brussels – Belgium.
Ganim AUTHMAN
Iraqi Turkmen Front
Germany Representative
Berlin – Germany
Sundus ABBAS
Iraqi Turkmen Front
U.K. Representatıve
London – U.K.
Sadun KÖPRÜLÜ
Iraqi Turkmen Front
Turkey Representative
Ankara – Turkey
Dr. Suphi N. TAVFIK
Iraqi Turkmen Front
Syria Representative
Damascus – SYRIA
Elections in the North of Iraq: Kurdistani List accused of fraud
July 27, 2009 at 12:46 pm | Posted in Turkmens | Leave a commentTags: Duhok, Erbil, Gorran, IHEC, Independent Electoral Commission, Voting fraud in Kurdish elections
Kurdistani list denies fraud allegations
By Wladimir van Wilgenburg
Erbil
The Service and Reformation List (Four Party List) and the Change List (Gorran) accuse the Kurdistani List in involvement of fraud in Erbil and Duhok. The Kurdistani list denies the allegations. According to the Kurdish opposition there was especially fraud in Erbil when the IHEC extended the voting with one hour from 18.00 pm till 19.00 for technical problems with names and the hot weather.
The Kurdish opposition list says the Kurdistani List let unregistered people vote several times and pushed out observers of the opposition from some polling stations in Duhok and Erbil. On IUK.org, the website of the Islamic Union of Kurdistan (IUK), a press declaration of the Four Party list said that there was massive voting fraud. “Everybody in Kurdistan knows what happened”. IUK manager in Erbil, Saeed Abdullah, said that they reported violations in Erbil and Duhok to the IHEC.
Both lists also complain that the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission (IHEC) is not neutral in their observer status and influenced by the Kurdistan Democratic Party lead by Massoud Barzani and part of the Kurdistani list. Gorran manager in Zakho Idris Sheranshi said in a statement on his blog that Gorran has filed hundreds of complaints and also claimed IHEC officials were involved in fraud.
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