4:3 Semi-autonomous region prepares for elections

Описание: (20 Sep 2013) Residents of Kurdistan will elect their local parliament on Saturday in a vote that is likely to underline the ethnic minority's insistence on greater autonomy from the central, Arab-led government in Baghdad.
Nearly three million Iraqi Kurdish voters are eligible to cast ballots in Saturday's vote, with 1,130 candidates vying for the 111 seats in the regional parliament.
The candidates faces beam down from posters along roadsides in the regional capital of Irbil.
"The Kurdistan regional election is being done in a democratic atmosphere and everyone is free to elect his candidate," said Irbil resident Ahmed. "People here are very happy with this event, moreover the election is honest."
The vote is not expected to upend the domination of the region's two main parties: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani.
Ambiguity over the health condition of Talabani, who suffered a stroke in December, could help the Gorran opposition group make a strong showing in Sulaimaniyah province, one of three provinces that make up the Kurdish region.
The 79-year old Talabani is being treated in Germany.
Few details have been released about his health, fuelling speculation about his ability to continue with his political life.
The Gorran, or Change, party is led by Nosherwan Mustafa, a former PUK senior member who focused his campaign on criticising alleged corruption, nepotism, media intimidation and heavy-handed behaviour by private security groups in the region.
In its debut in 2009 elections, Gorran gained about 23 percent of parliament seats while the coalition of KDP and PUK took a little over 57 percent.
"The election which is going on Kurdistan region is a very important event because it will bring new people to into government and parliament and the security situation is very good," said another Irbil resident Mohamed Amin.
Whatever political framework the election results bring, the Kurds are expected to remain united in their dispute with Baghdad over lands claimed by both sides, controlling natural resources and power sharing.

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