Political

Heads of the blocs in Parliament discuss the formation of a new government 30-03-2014

Erbil – - The heads of parliamentary blocs in the Kurdistan region's Parliament held a meeting at Parliament House to discuss the formation of the regional government. A member of parliament for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Farsat Sofie said "The meeting aims to speed up the resumption of Parliament's sessions, selection of the chairman for the parliament, and formation of the new government." He added, "The members of parliament are subjected to heavy public pressure to resolve their differences and form a new regional government," expected to reached an agreement and end the current crisis during the next two weeks. The elections in for Parliamentary Council in Kurdistan Region held on 21 September last year. The consultations and negotiations to form a regional government are still going continuously between Nechirvan Barzani and the parties which won in the election which to form a new government. ninanews.com

Barzani's KDP meet to form the new Kurdish government 01-04-2014

Erbil – Kurdistan region - Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP held a consultation in Erbil city to discuss the compos ition of the government in kurdistan region. A kurdish source said that “The meeting was held under the supervisi on of party’s leader, Massoud Barzani”. He added that the meeting will discuss the formation of a government le d by KDP or entrusting the Ministry of Interior for Change movement. The position of the Ministry of Interior is on e of the biggest obstacles in the formation of the Kurdish government, as Kurdistan Patriotic Union refuses to ent rust Change movement which is the main rival in its strongholds with this position while the latter insists on this p osition as a condition for participation in the new government. The Kurdish source pointed out that KDP wants all blocs to be involved in the government formation. shafaaq.com

Nawshirwan Mustafa: Every change and reform in Kurdistan Region star ts from Erbil 02-04-2014

Sulemnia – Kurdistan region - Nawshirwan Mustafa; General Coordinator of Change movement (Gorran) says that every changes and reforms in the Kurdistan region start from Erbil, the capital city of 's autonomous Kurdistan region, in his statement after finishing Gorran's internal conferences. While receiving his electronic voter card recently in Sulemania, Mustafa urged the people of the Kurdistan region to receive their electronic voter cards at the polling stations because “voting is the best way to change the bad political system in the region”. With regard to the current incumbent parliament and the political situation, Nawshirwan said: “Kurdistan region has two options Democracy or the other way.” “Instead of waging war over oil and the Kurdish share in the national budget, our priority must be the disputed territories,” Nawshirwan added. In another part of his statement, Mustafa sent a message to the people of Erbil and said: “people of Erbil are facing a big responsibility, and that is every reform and change starts from Erbil.” “I hope that the people of Erbil participate actively in the elections and punish those parties that are held accountable for the current bad situation of the Kurdistan region” Mustafa concluded. knnc.net

Iraqi president’s son Qubad Talabani: the decision of Mam Jala’s return is in the hands of doctors supervising his medical treatment. 02 – 04 - 2014

Sulemania – Kurdistan region - Qubad Talabani, the son of Iraqi President , announced that the health of the President is very good and it is his right to take enough time until he completely recovers. This announcement was made during Qubad Talabani’s participation in a celebration on the occasion of the beginning of the electoral media campaign of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK. He also said that his father sacrificed years of his life in order to return to Kurdistan region. Talabani clarified that the decision of the President’s return to his country is in the hands of the doctors supervising his medical treatment. pukmedia.com

1 Barzani “New Kurdish Government to be Formed Before Election” 03-04-2014

A source close to the negotiations for the formation of a new Kurdistan Regional Government has told Bas News that the political parties have agreed to form a new cabinet before the Iraqi election on April 30 th.The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that most of the Kurdish political parties were determined to form a new government as soon as possible, “before the Iraqi Parliamentary and Kurdistan Province elections on April 30th”.Furthermore, during his party (KDP) election campaign in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region, President Massoud Barzani confirmed and said the new Kurdish government will be formed before Election. More than six months after the Kurdish Parliamentary Council Election, Kurdish parties have been unable to agree on the formation of the new government, and many have predicted that a new cabinet will not be installed until after the election on April 30th. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won last September’s elections and since then there have been continuous talks between the parties in an effort to come to an agreement for a new government, but so far the talks have failed. Basnews.com

Economy

Kurdistan launches first trading Erbil Stock Exchange in 2014 30-03-2014

Erbil- Kurdistan region - A Kurdish official in the Kurdistan Regional Government revealed on Saturday launching of the first session of Erbil’s stock in the fourth quarter of this year. “Work is in its final stage to receive the syste m, contracted by Nasdaq Aumix Company at the beginning of August of next year,” Ahmed Abdul Rahim Abdulla h, Director General of the stock market in Kurdistan said. Abdul Rahim, a consultant and economist at the Counc il of Ministers added that the regional government “will start the first trading session of Erbil’s stock exchange in t he fourth quarter of this year. Shafaq.com

Cement Conference in Sulemania discusses industrial difficulties 31-03-2014

Sulemania - Kurdistan region - Iraqi Ministry of Industry reported that on Sunday a cement conference will be co nvened in Sulemania to discuss this industry in the country. In a statement today, the Ministry said that the confe rence will discuss cement strategy and future prospect. The topics of the conference concentrated on the effects of imported cement on investment contracts. aswataliraq.info

Almost 3,000 foreign companies registered in Kurdistan Region 01 -04 - 2014

According to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Industry and Trade Ministry is officials, there are under almost 3,000 foreign companies currently registered in the region, compared to 900 in Iraq proper. The Head of KRG Company Registration Office, Delzar Ismail, told local media that the number of registered foreign compani es working in different fields in the region has reached 2,700. “The large number of registrations of foreign comp anies in the region versus the rest of Iraq is a sign of commercial and economic growth in the Kurdish Region,” s aid Ismail. Ismail explained that the number of registered local companies in the region has increased to over 18, 000 resulting in a total of approximately 21,000 companies including foreign and local ones. According to statisti cs, Turkey and Iran have the biggest number of registered foreign companies in the Kurdistan Region. Basnews. com

Massoud Barzani opens Erbil International Book Fair 02 – 04 – 2014

Erbil – Kurdistan region - President of Kurdistan Region; Massoud Barzani opened Erbil International Book Fair with the participation of hundreds of publishing houses, Local, Arab and foreign countries. Mada Foundation org anized a range of cultural and media exhibitions in collaboration with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Ahme

2 d Abdullah Abdul Rahim, Director General of the opposition in the cabinet of Kurdistan Regional Government tol d “Shafaq News" that more than 150 publishing houses from 40 countries has attended the exhibition. This is the ninth edition of the exhibition, as the previous version has attracted 37 publishing houses from 33 countries. It is worth mentioning that Erbil city has witnessed many international exhibitions in various fields of construction: car s, household items and hotel. shafaaq.com

Elections

The elections campaign 01 – 04 - 2014

ERBIL- Kurdistan region 'Iraq',— The campaign for Iraq’s parliamentary elections kicked off today, with Kurdish parties bracing for the national vote amid many unresolved issues with .“If Kurdish political leaders treat the Iraqi elections wisely they are likely to win a great number of seats,” says Najib Abdullah, a parliamentarian from the Islamic Union (Yekgirtu).

Abdullah predicts the will win seven more seats in this month’s elections, increasing their overall presence in the Iraqi parliament to 64.

Abdullah, who serves in the Iraqi parliament, urges Kurdish parties to analyze every step in the lead-up to the polls, at the end of the month. Most importantly, he says, they must figure out an accurate count for the number of Kurds across Iraq, particularly in the multiethnic city of Kirkuk.

Though Kurds have their own regional parliament in Erbil, since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that removed , they have been participants in the Iraqi parliament and government, based on votes they gained in the past few elections.

In the 2010 elections, they won 57 seats in Iraq’s 325-seat parliament, most of their weight originating from the three provinces of Erbil, Duhok and Slêmanî that make up the Kurdistan Regional Government.

In the outlying provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh and Diyala that border the Kurdistan Region, there is a significant Kurdish population which often votes for the Kurdish parties.

Abdullah says they could win at least 20 seats in these areas if the groups can manage the campaigns wisely and address people’s needs.

Muhammad Ahmed, one of Abdullah’s party colleagues, thinks that Yekgirtu can increase its current four seats to seven in the next parliament.

On top of the seats they may win, Iraq’s new election law grants each province in the Kurdistan Region an extra seat.

Kurdish leaders pay great attention to Iraq’s parliamentary elections, and how they fare matters. The Iraqi parliament is a place where they can fight their political battles with the federal government.

Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) predicts it will be the biggest winner among all Kurdish parties on the national level. Its election commission expects the KDP to win 1.2 million votes across Iraq.

The commission also believes the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will be the second, and the Change Movement (Gorran), the third.

This analysis is quite similar to the outcome of Kurdistan’s own parliamentary elections, held last September, the only difference being that the PUK has more followers than Gorran in the Kurdish areas outside the Kurdistan Region, namely, Kirkuk and Khanaqin. Basnews.com

3 won’t participate in elections campaign 01 – 04 – 2014

Sulemania – Kurdistan region - The second deputy of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Barham Salih will n ot participate in the party’s election campaign. Sources in the PUK said that First Lady and PUK member Hero Ib rahim Ahmed and PUK first deputy Kosrat Rasul Ali have asked Salih to participate in the party’s election campai gn, but he has rejected the request. PUK’s rival Gorran (Change Movement) have been ready to win in Sulemani a, the second largest city in the Kurdistan Region and PUK’s historical stronghold. Reports claim that Gorran’s le ader Nawshirwan Mustafa will give a speech on the eve of elections campaign. Gorran is preparing to take admi nistrative and political power in Sulemania and are expected to win the majority of the votes, which they also wo n in the last parliamentary elections. However, PUK official Mustafa Chawrash rejects reports that Gorran will wi n in Sulemania “no one can win Sulemania alone, but if one side only wins, it is not a tragedy,” said Chawrash, a member of the PUK political bureau. He also revealed that the PUK has thoroughly prepared for elections and e xpects the party’s votes to increase in Sulemania and other cities. Regarding Salih’s decision to not take part in elections campaign, he said: “I expect every PUK official to partake in the campaign”. basnews.com

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