AM:11:42:03/11/2021
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SULAIMANI — Following an evening of confusion and potential
upheaval within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a party source told NRT
on Wednesday (November 3) that additional changes were imminent for several key
government and party posts.
On Tuesday night, PUK Co-President Lahur Sheikh Jangi released a lengthy statement criticizing the direction of the party and its
performance in the 2021 Iraqi parliamentary elections.
Less than an hour later, media outlets affiliated with his
co-president, Bafel Talabani, and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy
Prime Minister Qubad Talabani announced that Sheikh Jangi and four other PUK
officials had been expelled from the party.
The announcement did not explain under what mechanism their
expulsion had been accomplished.
Nevertheless, it appeared that attempts to oust additional
officials was underway.
A source close to the Talabanis told NRT on condition of
anonymity on Wednesday that they plan to change a member of the party’s
politburo, three members of the Sharazur and Chamchamal district offices, and a
number of committee officials because of the PUK’s poor electoral performance
in those areas in terms of the party’s raw vote.
The party will also replace a general director and the deputy
minister of the KRG interior ministry, the general director of Sulaimani
tourism, the mayor of Sulaimani, and the director of Sulaimani health
directorate.
It was unclear how the party planned to institute those
changes.
One of Sheikh Jangi’s major criticisms in his Tuesday
statement was that the party had failed to deal with the ongoing power struggle
through proper procedure and urged it to call a meeting of the party’s powerful
General Leadership Council.
(NRT Digital Media)