The
Nineveh Governorate
Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...
election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other
governorates
A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions o ...
outside
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
and
Kirkuk Governorate
Kirkuk Governorate (; ; ) or Kirkuk Province is a governorate in northern Iraq. The governorate has an area of . In 2017, the estimated population was 1,259,561 people. The provincial capital is the city of Kirkuk. It is divided into four Distri ...
.
Background
Three seats on the council have been reserved for religious minorities: one for
Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
, one for
Yazidis
Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...
and one for
Shabak.
In May 2008, arrest warrants were issued against a number of
KDP KDP may refer to:
Businesses
*Kindle Direct Publishing, an e-publisher that bans without reason
*Keurig Dr Pepper, a beverage conglomerate
Political parties
* Karpatendeutsche Partei (KdP; Carpathian Germany Party), Czechoslovakia
* Katipunan ...
council members who were accused of involvement in an assassination ring headed by the deputy leader of the KDP. The ring allegedly assassinated 900 people including a prominent Imam, two former senior officials of the
Baath party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
, doctors and university professors. They were also accused of funnelled money and logistical help to
al Qaeda in Iraq
Al-Qaeda in Iraq (; AQI), was a Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targeted bombing on ...
, in order to persuade the predominantly Arab residents to turn over security to the Kurdish
Peshmerga
The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...
.
Campaign
The main contest in Ninawa was between the incumbent Kurdish-backed governor and the al-Hadba party, formed by Sunni Arab tribal groups and backed by the Shiite Prime Minister,
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki (; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President ...
. During the campaign the pro-Kurdish governor, Duraid Kashmoula, said he intended to leave Mosul, the city of his birth, after the election and retire to Kurdistan.
Al-Hadba
The al-Hadba party is a political party formed to contest the 2009 Iraqi governorate elections in Ninawa province. It is mostly made up of Sunni Arabs. Its leading member Atheel al-Nujaifi is brother of Osama al-Nujaifi who is part of the Iraq ...
complained of being targeted by Kurdish security forces.
They accused the Kurdish parties of fraud in the
2005 election
The following elections occurred in the year 2005.
* 2005 United Nations Security Council election
Africa
* 2005 Burkinabé presidential election
* 2005 Burundian Senate election
* 2005 Burundian communal elections
* 2005 Burundian constitutio ...
and, together with other non-Kurdish groups asked for federal troops to UN monitors to protect the voting centres. A candidate for the Sunni Arab "Iraq for Us" coalition was killed by a gunman who walked into a cafe and shot him.
[Election friction flares in Iraq's violent north]
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
, 2009-01-02 Just before the election another Sunni Arab candidate, this time from the National Unity List, was killed outside his home in Mosul.
Al-Hadba called for the removal of Kurdish
peshmerga
The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...
forces from Ninawa, saying many of the province's insurgent groups would become law-abiding after that.
[Fractures in Iraq City as Kurds and Baghdad Vie]
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 2008-10-27, accessed 2009-01-05 The Iraqi Islamic Party said the peshmerga should be replaced by the Iraqi Army within six months.
Results
Usama al-Najafi
Osama Abdul Aziz al-Nujaifi (; born c. 1956) is an Iraqi politician and served as one of the three vice presidents of the country, from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. As the speaker of the Council of Representatives, the informal leader of the mo ...
, a member of the
Council of Representatives of Iraq
The Council of Representatives is the ''de facto'' unicameral legislature of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, it is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the country. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghdad ...
and a supporter of the al-Hadba party, claimed that they had won 60% of the vote, with the Kurdish list gaining only 20%.
After the election, reports claimed that Assyrians had been fired from their jobs because they were suspected of not voting for the pro-Kurdish
Ishtar Patriotic List, which won the seat reserved for an Assyrian candidate.
Assyrians in North Iraq Fired for Not Voting for Pro-Kurdish Slate
Assyrian International News Agency
The Assyrian International News Agency is a privately funded, independent news agency which provides news and analysis on Assyrian and Assyrian-related issues. It was founded by Peter BetBasoo and Firas Jatou in 1995.
Background
The website is ...
, 2009-02-20
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ninawa Governorate Election, 2009
2009 Iraqi governorate elections
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
Nineveh governorate election, 2009