The 2013

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an ...

election in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

was held on 20 June with elections for the

Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...

. Due to security problems, turnout was less than half that of the 2009 election. This election saw Sunni Arab parties lose a number of seats to minority parties.

Background

Nineveh is one of Iraq's most demographically-diverse governorates. Out of a population of about 2.8 million, 2013 estimates cited by Niqash claim about 300,000

Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

, (primarily in

Tal Afar Tal Afar ( ar, تَلْعَفَر, Talʿafar, ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located 63 km (39 mi) west of Mosul, 52 km (32 mi) east of Sinjar Rashidiya Al Rashidiya ( ar, الراشدية) is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Al Rashidiya is located south of Dubai International Airport in Deira, the eastern region of Dubai. The locality is bounded to the north by route D 8 ...

. A similarly-sized population of

Yazidis Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking Endogamy, endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran ...

live in the districts of Shekhan and

Sinjar Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its p ...

and near the town of

Bashiqa Bashiqa ( ku, بەعشیقە, translit=Başîqa; ar, بعشيقة, translit=Ba'shīqah; syr, ܒܥܫܝܩܐ) is a town situated at the heart of the Nineveh plain, between Mosul and Sheikhan, on the edges of Mount Maqlub. The urban area of Bashi ...

. Some 250,000

Shabaks Shabaks ( ar, الشبك; ku, شەبەک, translit=Şebek) are a group with a disputed ethnic origin. Some Shabaks identify themselves as a distinct ethnic group and others as ethnic Kurds. They live east of Mosul in Iraq. However their cultural t ...

live in villages north and east of

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

, and 200,000 Assyrians live in Bashiqa,

Bartella Bartella (; ar, برطلّة) is a town that is located in the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq, about east of Mosul. Bartella was liberated from ISIL control on October 20, 2016 by Iraqi Special Operations Forces along with the Nineveh Plain ...

and

Bakhdida Qaraqosh, also known as Al-Hamdaniya or Bakhdida, is an Assyrian city in Iraq within the Nineveh Governorate, located about 32 km (20 mi) southeast of the city of Mosul and 60 km (37 mi) west of Erbil amid agricultural lands, close ...

. There is a sizable

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

population, with many Yazidis also identifying as Kurds. Although elections for 13 of Iraq's 18 governorates were held on 20 April, elections in Al Anbar and Nineveh were delayed due to security concerns in the ongoing insurgency and Sunni-led protests.

Violence

As of 14 June there were eight attacks on provincial-council candidates in Nineveh, resulting in six deaths (including Muhanad Ghazi, a Sunni Arab candidate for the Iraqi Republican Gathering—a party supporting Prime Minister

Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...

). Ghazi was shot dead by unknown gunmen whilst walking home from the East Mosul mosque. Another local politician, Younis al-Rammah (leader of the moderate United Iraqi Gathering party), was killed on 19 June—the day before the election. Rammah was hosting a family gathering at a residence in Hadhar when a man embraced him, detonating a

suicide vest Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...

and killing Rammah and four relatives. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, although Iraqi officials blamed it on attempts by the

Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ar, دولة العراق الإسلامية '), commonly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq ( ar, القاعدة في العراق '), is a militant Salafist jihadist group that aimed to establish an Islamic sta ...

to disrupt the political process and return to sectarian violence. There was also violence on election day, with four Iraqi soldiers wounded by mortar rounds and roadside bombs in the

area.

Results

, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9;" !colspan=2 style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;", Party/coalition!! Allied national parties !! Leader !!Seats !! Change !! Votes !! % !! ±% , - , style="background-color:#CCFF33;", , style="text-align:left;", Brotherhood and Coexistence Alliance List , , style="text-align:left;",

KDP KDP may refer to: * Communist Party of Germany (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands) * Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraqi Kurdistan * Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran of Iranian Kurdistan * Korea Democratic Party * Khmer Democratic Party *Kappa Del ...

PUK , , , , 11 , , 1 , , 173,687 , , 29.87% , , 2.39% , - , style="background-color:#0D4E76;", , style="text-align:left;",

Muttahidoon The Uniters for Reform Coalition ( ar, ائتلاف متحدون للاصلاح ''I'tilāf Muttaḥidūn lil-Iṣlāḥ'') is a Sunni political coalition in Iraq. History The coalition was formed in December 2012, composing ten groups, and led ...

, , style="text-align:left;",

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 Usama al-Najafi who is part of the Iraqi N ...

Iraqi Islamic Party The Iraqi Islamic Party is the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front political coalition. It was part of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is part of the ...

, , style="text-align:left;",

Usama al-Nujayfi Osama Abdul Aziz al-Nujaifi or Najifi ( ar, أسامة النجيفي; born c. 1956 in Mosul) 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 ...

, , 8 , , 14 , , 129,556 , , 22.28% , , 27.54% , - , , style="text-align:left;", Loyalty to Nineveh List , , style="text-align:left;",

Iraqi National Dialogue Front The Iraqi Front for National Dialogue (Arabic: الجبهة العراقية للحوار الوطني ''al-Jabha al-Iraqia li al-Hiwar al-Watani'') also known as Hiwar is a Sunni Arab-led Iraqi political party. Originally formed to contest th ...

al-Hal , , style="text-align:left;", Ghanim al-Baso

Saleh al-Mutlaq Saleh Muhammed al-Mutlaq ( ar, صالح محمد المطلك; born 1 July 1947) is an Iraqi politician who is the head of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, the fifth largest political list in Iraq's parliament. From 21 December 2010 to 11 ...

Jamal al-Karbouli, , 4 , , , , 66,517 , , 11.44% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", United Nineveh , , , , style="text-align:left;", Abdullah al-Yawer , , 3 , , , , 45,971 , , 7.91% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Iraqi Construction and Justice Gathering , , , , style="text-align:left;", Dildar Zebari , , 3 , , , , 39,126 , , 6.73% , , , - , style="background-color:#098DCD;", , style="text-align:left;", Al Iraqia National and United Coalition , , , , style="text-align:left;",

Ayad Allawi Ayad Allawi ( ar, إيَاد عَلَّاوِي ; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi politician. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and the p ...

, , 2 , , , , 31,276 , , 5.38% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Nineveh’s Bravery Coalition , , , , style="text-align:left;", , , 1 , , , , 23,361 , , 4.02% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Nineveh’s National Alliance , , , , style="text-align:left;", , , 1 , , , , 22,734 , , 3.91% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Oum Rabih Tribes’ National Gathering , , , , style="text-align:left;", Hassan Khulayf , , 1 , , , , 21,349 , , 3.67% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Al Shabak Freemen Council , , , , , , 1 , , , , 12,689 , , 2.18% , , , - , style="background-color:#D61D16;", , style="text-align:left;",

Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress The Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress (, ) is a Yazidi political party in Iraq. The party represents Yazidis in the Nineveh Governorate. It has retained one seat in the Council of Representatives since 2005. Election results See also * ...

, , , , , , 1 , , , , 10,397 , , 1.79% , , 1.17% , - , style="background-color:#8B4513;", , style="text-align:left;", Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Gathering Coalition , , style="text-align:left;", Gathered Force Movement
Chaldean National Council

Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council The Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council (CSAPC, syr, ܡܘܬܒܐ ܥܡܡܝܐ ܟܠܕܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܐ ', ar, المجلس الشعبي الكلداني السرياني الآشوري '), popularly known as Motwa, is a political ...

Assyrian National Party
Rafidain List
National Bet-Nahrain Union , , , , 1 , , , , 8,635 , , 1.49% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Iraqi People’s Coalition , , , , , , 1 , , , , 8,633 , , 1.48% , , , - , style="background-color:#F6BE22;", , style="text-align:left;", Iraq’s Benevolence and Generosity List , , , , style="text-align:left;", Dr Rushdi Said , , 1 , , , , 8,076 , , 1.39% , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Iraqi Freemen Coalition , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Iraq’s Advocates for State Support , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Reformers Gathering , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", National Moderation Front , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", United National Christian Assembly , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Iraq’s Unified Gathering , , , , style="text-align:left;", Younis al-Rammah , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Oum Rabih National Independent Gathering , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", United Democratic ِArabic Movement , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , style="background-color:#DDDDDD;", , style="text-align:left;", Yuhanna Youssef Tuma Buta , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Future Path for Yazidis Party , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Free Yazidi Gathering , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Yazidi Democratic Front , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Yazidi Progress Party , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , style="text-align:left;", Shabak Independent Party , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;", ''Total'' , , , , , , 39 , , 2 , , 581,449

Analysis

The Uniters List, composed of al-Hadba and the Iraqi Islamic Party, had won 49.82 percent of the vote and 22 of 37 seats in the Nineveh Governorate Council in 2009. The party held eight of 39 council seats after the 2013 election. The local Arab parties lost control of the council, although

Atheel al-Nujaifi Atheel al-Nujaifi ( ar, أثيل النجيفي; tr, Esil Nuceyfi; born 1958) is an Iraqi politician who was the Governor of Nineveh Governorate from April 2009 until May 2015. Nujaifi was born into a Mawsili family in 1958. He is a brother o ...

remained governor. The new council president was Bashar Kiki, a Kurd; the new vice-president, Nour ad-Din Qabalan, was a Turkmen. Nujaifi's deputy, Abdul Qader Battoush, is also Kurdish. His second deputy, Hassan al-Allaf, is an Arab and one of three politicians elected from Mosul (which had produced a large number of Arab politicians in the previous election). According to local political scientist Hamza Hussein, the number of seats won by minorities demonstrated popular discontent and lack of confidence in the previous council. Local activist Rabea Mustafa said that opposition to the previous council arose largely from resentment of its fractured nature, which hampered its ability to deliver basic services. Mustafa also said that the election result was due to minorities being driven out of Mosul because of violence; these minorities then settled elsewhere in Nineveh. Voter turnout in Mosul was low, due to security problems and a lack of confidence in the political process and the previous council. Candidates were better able to canvass outside Mosul due to better security, and many Mosul-based candidates withdrew from the election. Voter turnout was about half that of 2009: 581,449, compared to 995,169 in the previous election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nineveh Governorate Election, 2013 2013 Iraqi governorate elections