Friday, January 05, 2007
PUK to conduct leadership reshuffle
Politics
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [PUK] is expected to hold a mini-conference next Sunday, 7 January, to fill in 11 vacancies created in the last six years. It has also been suggested that [PUK Secretary-General Jalal] Talabani will have two deputies instead of one, with [Kurdistan Region Vice-President] Kosrat Rasul and [Iraqi Deputy Premier] Barham Salih the candidates.
Meanwhile, four leadership members are expected to be removed following revelations that they had connections with the [former] Iraqi intelligence. A source told Hawlati, "Two PUK leadership members died and four others resigned in the past six years. Besides, several members will not run again [in the conference]. The mini-conference will fill in those positions and the subsequent leadership will decide on the later steps."
Originally, 11 and not 12 members were expected to join the leadership, but the substitute leadership member Shamal Abd al-Wafa was promoted to become a leadership member in the past few days. Regarding the method through which the 11 members will join the leadership, the source said, "There are two opinions: through election or agreement before their appointment. However, it seems they will opt for the election option."
The source added, "The main wings of the PUK, namely Talabani, Nawshirwan [Mustafa] and Kosrat [Rasul] will all have their candidates one way or another and the mini-conference will try to help each of them win positions." In the same context, a number of PUK cadres living in Europe have protested against the holding of a mini-conference in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Hawlati. They described the mini-conference as "staged", calling on the PUK to hold a plenary conference.
The statement said, "Except for the Political Bureau meetings, the PUK has held no ordinary leadership meeting since the second conference [of the party]. Hence, it is our right to ask: how can the PUK hold a mini-conference in two week's time without preparation and planning to solve many complicated problems?"
The mini-conference is expected to be held on Sunday [7 Jan] and Monday [8 Jan].
Meanwhile, four leadership members are expected to be removed following revelations that they had connections with the [former] Iraqi intelligence. A source told Hawlati, "Two PUK leadership members died and four others resigned in the past six years. Besides, several members will not run again [in the conference]. The mini-conference will fill in those positions and the subsequent leadership will decide on the later steps."
Originally, 11 and not 12 members were expected to join the leadership, but the substitute leadership member Shamal Abd al-Wafa was promoted to become a leadership member in the past few days. Regarding the method through which the 11 members will join the leadership, the source said, "There are two opinions: through election or agreement before their appointment. However, it seems they will opt for the election option."
The source added, "The main wings of the PUK, namely Talabani, Nawshirwan [Mustafa] and Kosrat [Rasul] will all have their candidates one way or another and the mini-conference will try to help each of them win positions." In the same context, a number of PUK cadres living in Europe have protested against the holding of a mini-conference in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Hawlati. They described the mini-conference as "staged", calling on the PUK to hold a plenary conference.
The statement said, "Except for the Political Bureau meetings, the PUK has held no ordinary leadership meeting since the second conference [of the party]. Hence, it is our right to ask: how can the PUK hold a mini-conference in two week's time without preparation and planning to solve many complicated problems?"
The mini-conference is expected to be held on Sunday [7 Jan] and Monday [8 Jan].
