SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has announced nearly complete results for the 2024 Kurdistan parliamentary elections, with 99.63% of the votes counted. The elections, held on October 20, saw a turnout of 72% across the Kurdistan Region’s four provinces, with 2,087,972 eligible voters casting their ballots.
Out of 2.9 million registered voters, approximately 215,960 were private voters, accounting for 7.4% of the electorate. The turnout of 72% reflects significant public engagement in the Region’s political process.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) emerged as the dominant force, leading in both Erbil and Duhok provinces. In Erbil, the KDP secured 345,822 votes, well ahead of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with 110,353 votes, and the New Generation Movement with 103,684 votes. Duhok saw even stronger support for the KDP, which garnered 400,603 votes, followed by the New Generation Movement with 46,444 votes, and the Kurdistan Islamic Union with 42,447 votes.
The PUK showed its strongest performance in Sulaimani, where it led with 256,813 votes, followed by the New Generation Movement with 136,131 votes. The KDP secured 57,832 votes in the province, while the Islamic Union of Kurdistan obtained 42,622 votes. In Halabja, the PUK also led, receiving 12,530 votes, followed by the Islamic Union of Kurdistan with 7,847 votes.
Region-wide, the KDP secured 809,197 votes, affirming its position as the leading party. The PUK followed with 408,141 votes, while the New Generation Movement gained 290,991 votes, and the Islamic Union of Kurdistan obtained 116,281 votes. Additional parties such as the Kurdistan Justice Group, Stance Movement (Halwest ), People’s Front, and the Change Movement (Gorran) also gained representation, though with fewer votes.
The new Kurdistan Parliament will consist of 39 seats for the KDP, 23 for the PUK, and 15 for the New Generation Movement. Other parties securing representation include the Kurdistan Islamic Union (7 seats), Kurdistan Justice Society (3 seats), People’s Front (2 seats), and the Gorran Movement (1 seat).
Following the announcement, KDP’s second deputy leader, Masrour Barzani, addressed the PUK’s campaign slogan, “We will End the Authoritarian Rule,” by stating, “They couldn’t,” and thanked the Kurdish people for reaffirming the KDP’s leadership in the Region.
The elections were overseen by the Iraqi Independent High Election Commission (IHEC). However, Ali Hama Salih, leader of the Stance Movement, has raised concerns about the results, arguing that they do not accurately reflect the actual votes his party received.
During a press conference where he presented documents and evidence, Hama Salih claimed that the results had been manipulated to favor three specific parties.