Kurdistan’s Elections: A Cycle Without Change
Dwin Ali – Activist
As the Kurdistan Region enters another parliamentary election, the atmosphere feels less like a celebration of democracy and more like a repetition of a long, predictable script. The flags are raised, the promises renewed, and the same two powers, the KDP and the PUK, prepare to divide the outcome before the people even cast their votes.
After more than three decades of autonomy, the political landscape in Kurdistan has become rigid and deeply partisan. The elections are held, but real power rarely shifts. The institutions that should serve the people have instead become extensions of party loyalty. Ministries, universities, and even security forces remain under political influence, while young people lose faith in the possibility of reform through the ballot box.
The KDP continues to dominate the western side of the region, controlling Erbil and Duhok with a firm hand, while the PUK holds onto Sulaimani and parts of Halabja. The two parties have effectively turned the region into a political duopoly, trading influence and territory as if democracy were a family inheritance.
The tragedy is that even when elections are concluded, no real government is formed. The KDP and PUK refuse to cooperate, each holding the other responsible for the deadlock. No matter how many seats they win, they will not start the government until their personal and partisan interests are secured. The people wait for salaries, services, and stability, while the ruling elites argue over titles, ministries, and control.
This political paralysis has become routine. Instead of serving the nation, the parties serve themselves. Every election ends in another round of bargaining, not governance. The citizens who once believed in the power of the vote now see that their participation changes nothing.
True democracy cannot exist where power is concentrated in the hands of a few and criticism is treated as betrayal. The upcoming parliament may have new faces, but if it continues to serve party interests over public needs, it will merely repeat the failures of its predecessors.
Kurdistan deserves a new generation of leadership that values transparency, accountability, and genuine representation. Until then, each election will remain a ceremony without substance, a performance of democracy that hides the truth of an entrenched system built on fear, favoritism, and control.