# 2018 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections took place in Kurdistan Region on 30 September 2018 to elect Parliament. The election came a year after a failed bid for independence and left the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) with 45 seats, that positioning it to lead the next regional government. Announcement of the results was delayed for three weeks. The KDP's historic rival and junior coalition partner in government, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was in second place with 21 seats. The results suggest that Masoud Barzani’s KDP will take a dominant position in Kurdish politics.

## Background

Following the end of the Gulf War in 1991, a civil war, mainly between the Erbil and Dohuk-based Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Sulaymaniyah-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led to the establishment of two separate Kurdish regional governments. Following the reconciliation and a power-sharing agreement between KDP and PUK, and Parliamentary elections in 2005, a unified Kurdistan Regional Government was created. The joint KDP–PUK faction Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan assumed power and formed a government that was headed by Nechervan Barzani (KDP; 2006–09) and Barham Salih (PUK; 2009–12).
When former PUK official Nawshirwan Mustafa broke away to form the new Movement for Change (Gorran) party, the new party primarily hurt PUK's electoral support in the 2009 parliamentary elections. The KDP–PUK alliance, now renamed Kurdistan List, formed a new government headed by Nechervan Barzani.
Presidential elections were due to coincide with parliamentary elections in 2013. However, in the months leading to the elections the parliament extended Massoud Barzani’s term for another two years. When the parliamentary elections were held, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ran on separate lists for the first time since 1992. With its traditionally strong backing in Dohuk and Erbil provinces, the KDP managed to expand its plurality, while falling short of an outright majority. PUK suffered from internal conflicts during the absence of its leader Jalal Talabani, who was recovering from a stroke, and from strong competition by the Movement for Change (Gorran), which established itself as the strongest party in Sulaymaniyah, previously a major stronghold of PUK.
The provincial elections were delayed until November, and then again to 2014, when they were held in conjunction with the Iraqi parliamentary election.
In 2015, as Barzani's term was due to expire, debates continued as to whether it should be extended further, with supporters citing the Kurdish fight against ISIS and the need for stability in the Kurdish regional government. Others have expressed concern that a continued extension of Barzani's term could lead to a President for Life scenario. Both Kurdish politicians and observers in the area worry that the polarizing debate over the presidency will destabilize Kurdish democracy and weaken the region in its fight against the Islamic State. In July 2016, Barzani announced that he would not seek another term as president. The Kurdistan Region Parliament on 24 October 2017 announced that the elections for the presidency and the parliament had been delayed by eight months. The decision was made after the electoral commission stated that the political parties had failed to register their candidates amidst the regional crisis.

## Parties participating in election

21 parties registered for Kurdistan's parliamentary elections:
* Coalition for Democracy and Justice (Barham Salih)
* Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
* Turkmen Development Party
* Turkmen Democratic Movement in Kurdistan
* Change Movement (Gorran)
* Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU)
* Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa)
* Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party
* Individual Armenian Political Entity (Aram Birzo Hamo)
* Individual Armenian Political Entity (Obar Sipan Gharib)
* Turkmen Reform Party
* Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal)
* Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
* Yezidi Democratic Party
* Kurdistan Toilers' Party
* Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party
* Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council
* Communist Party of Kurdistan – Iraq
* New Generation Movement
* Conservative Party of Kurdistan
* Toilers Party of Kurdistan

## Electoral system

The 111 members of the Kurdistan National Assembly were elected by open list proportional representation in a single constituency. Five seats were reserved for the Christian Assyrian minority, five for Turkmen, and one for Armenians. Furthermore, 30% of the members must be women.

## Notable participating entities

| List No | Party | Kurdish name | Party leaders |
| 105 | Patriotic Union of Kurdistan | یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان Yekêtiy Nîştimaniy Kurdistan | Kosrat Rasul Ali |
| 119 | Towards Reform | بەرەو ئیسڵاح Hevpeymaniya Ber bi Îslah | Kurdistan Islamic Union & Kurdistan Islamic Movement |
| 127 | Sardam Alliance | سەردەم Hevpeymaniya Serdem | Mohammad Hajji Mahmoud |
| 134 | New Generation Movement | جوڵانەوەی نەوەی نوێ Culanewey Newey Nwê | Shaswar Abdulwahid Qadir |
| 148 | Movement for Change | گۆڕان Bizûtinewey Gorran | Omar Said Ali |
| 156 | Kurdistan Conservative Party | پارتی پارێزگارانی کوردستان Partî Parêzgaranî Kurdistan | Zaid Surchi |
| 164 | Communist Party of Kurdistan – Iraq (Freedom List) | ئازادی Partî Azadî | Kamal Shakir |
| 183 | Kurdistan Democratic Party | پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان Partî Dîmukratî Kurdistan | Massoud Barzani |
| 194 | Kurdistan Islamic Group | کۆمەڵی ئیسلامی کوردستان-عێراق Komelley Îslamiy Kurdistaê / Îraq | Ali Bapir |

## Results

Results :
| Political party | 2018 | 2018 | 2018 | 2013 | Change |
| Political party | Votes | % | Seats | Seats | Seats +/− |
| Kurdistan Democratic Party | 688,070 | 44.1% | 45 | 38 | 7 |
| Patriotic Union of Kurdistan | 319,219 | 20.5% | 21 | 18 | 3 |
| Gorran Movement | 186,903 | 12% | 12 | 24 | 12 |
| New Generation Movement | 127,115 | 8.2% | 8 | New | 8 |
| Kurdistan Justice Party | 109,494 | 7% | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Kurdistan Islamic Union | 79,912 | 5.1% | 5 | 11 | 6 |
| Sardam alliance $_{(coalitionconsistingofKurdistanSocialistDemocraticParty,DemocraticNationalUnionofKurdistanandKurdistanToilers'Party)}$ | 15,581 | 1% | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Freedom List (Communist Party of Kurdistan – Iraq) | 8,063 | 0.5% | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 1,559,021 | | 100 | 100 | |
| Turkmen minority reserved seats ||||||
| Turkmen Development List (Turkmen Reform List) | 3,318 | 28.9% | 2 | 2 | |
| Turkmen Reform Party | 3,125 | 27.2% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Turkmen/Iraqi Turkmen Front | 1,545 | 13.5% | 1 | 1 | |
| Nation List | 885 | 7.7% | 1 | | |
| Biz Turkmen (Yelderem) | 846 | 7.4% | 0 | | |
| Erbil Turkmen Coalition | 760 | 6.6% | 0 | | |
| Erbil Turkmen List | 695 | 6.1% | 0 | | |
| Turkmen Democratic Movement | 298 | 2.6% | 0 | 3 | |
| Total | 11,472 | | 5 | 5 | |
| Assyrian minority reserved seats ||||||
| National Union Coalition | 8,088 | 57.7% | 3 | New | 3 |
| Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council | 2,963 | 21.1% | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Assyrian Democratic Movement/Rafidain List | 2,626 | 18.7% | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Democratic Christian List | 238 | 1.7% | 0 | New | |
| Sons of Mesopotamia (Abna al Nahrain List) | 108 | 0.8% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 14,023 | | 5 | 5 | |
| Armenian minority reserved seat ||||||
| Fahik Kamal Saranyan | 590 | 20% | 1 | | |
| Berunt Nissan Markos | 590 | 20% | 0 | 1 | |
| Aram Bozo Hamo | 611 | 20.7% | 0 | | |
| Adkar Hakob | 439 | 14.9% | 0 | | |
| Morad Mardros Wartan | 425 | 14.4% | 0 | | |
| Nobar Sypar Qarib | 290 | 9.8% | 0 | | |
| Total | 2,945 | | 1 | 1 | |
| Overall total (Counted/Valid votes) | 1,587,461 | 100% | 111 | 111 | |
| Registered voters/turnout ||||||
| 3,085,461 | 3,085,461 | 3,085,461 | 3,085,461 | 3,085,461 | 51.4% |