Peregraf
The Halwest Movement, officially known as the National Stance Movement (NSM), has appealed the results of the recent Kurdistan parliamentary elections, calling for their cancellation due to alleged fraud.
The parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, held on October 20, 2024, have been marred by "allegations of fraud and vote manipulation". Opposition parties, including the Kurdistan Justice Group (KJG), also known as Komal, the People’s Front (Baray Gal), and Halwest, have claimed that the results were "manipulated to favor the ruling parties and the New Generation Movement."
In a statement issued today November 3, 2024, by the Halwest Movement, the Movement detailed the alleged violations, noting "numerous legal and technical issues" that compromised the election's integrity. "Besides widespread fraud, 210,000 votes have been annulled, and over 100,000 eligible voters were barred from voting due to fingerprint discrepancies. This alone could represent 15 parliamentary seats," the statement read. The movement claims to have submitted evidence of these irregularities to the electoral judiciary.
Halwest further explained that it had previously requested access to software used for counting the votes in order to verify fraud and review the results. This request was denied, purportedly because the software was managed by a Korean company. Consequently, the movement is now urging a thorough legal and technical investigation into the electoral process in both Kurdistan and Iraq. "Only after conclusive proof of fraud should the sixth session of the Kurdistan Parliament be annulled," the movement emphasized.
According to the final election results, the Halwest Movement placed fifth in the standings. However, the movement expressed dissatisfaction, stating it had anticipated receiving significantly more votes and seats. "The election was manipulated at the expense of several parties, especially the Halwest Movement, with major fraud benefiting the three leading parties," the statement added.
As a new political entity established just seven months before the Kurdistan parliamentary elections, Halwest secured four seats across the four provinces with a total of 56,008 votes—two seats in Sulaymaniyah, and one each in Erbil and Duhok. This gave the movement roughly 3% of the total valid votes in the Kurdistan Region, according to final results.
The Kurdistan parliamentary elections, did not alter the rankings of the top two parties, the KDP and PUK—the two ruling parties—they successfully reaffirmed their political legitimacy through the people's vote. However, there are notable changes and other important consequences that have emerged from this election.