"The agreement on the forming a coalition between the PUK and the Movement for Change in the Iraqi parliamentary elections was signed a few months ago, and the election campaign started in September in the city of Kirkuk. The reason for choosing Kirkuk is the importance of the city to Kurdish public opinion," Sitran Abdullah told Kurdpress.

Sitran Abdullah added: The alliance between the PUK and the Movement for Change has several dimensions. One of its dimensions is the common roots of both parties, which is a part of the Kurdish political movement that led to the uprising of the people against Saddam Hussein's [Iraq's toppled president] regime. The second dimension is that the two sides have come to the understanding that the political forces of Kurdistan need to unite, at least to participate in the elections. Because this election requires unity among the political forces of the Kurdistan Region in order to take a united stand to defend the rights of the Kurds in Baghdad or to

Commenting on possible remarks by the PUK co-president Bafel Talabani that had announced at a press conference that he wanted to defeat the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the elections to make the PUK to become the largest political movement in the Kurdistan Region and even unite with Gorran secretly, Mr. Abdullah said "Bafel Talabani, the joint chairman of the Patriotic Union, represents the view that the leadership and members of the PUK are willing to boost all levels of alliance Gorran. From the time of the agreement between the late Mam Jalal [Talabani] and the late Nawshirvan Mustafa [founder of the Movement for Change] until today, the situation requires the unification of the two parties, based on new conditions in Baghdad to pave the way for the unification of the Patriotic Union and the Movement for Change."

The head of the media office of the PUK emphasized: "This alliance provides the ground for more coordination between the parties. Because this is not just about participating in elections. The post-election period is also under consideration, and we, as members of the PUK, hope to rejoin the Movement for Change, and we hope that this will and determination will exist among our brothers in the Movement for Change. But in any case, everything will be achieved in its own time, and any peace needs both sides, and I think Gorran is waiting for our alliance to bear fruit at this stage, so that the unity will happen, just like the way Baffle Talabani announced."

Regarding the differences between the joint presidents of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Satran Abdullah said: "Currently, all PUK members and all the political forces of the Kurdistan Region are focusing on participation in the Iraqi parliamentary elections."

"We will wait for the results of the parliamentary elections and we hope that the results of the elections in Baghdad would be in such a way that the democratic parts are preserved and the polls would be held in a peaceful atmosphere, and a network of Kurdish political forces will unite to help advance the interests of the people of the Kurdistan Region. In this case, the PUK, the Movement for Change and other political movements can comment on the representation of the Kurds in Baghdad and the future of other Iraqi political movements," the senior PUK said about the possibility of a greater unity with other political forces in the Kurdistan Region, particularly the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Regarding the PUK's view on Kirkuk and the Iraqi parliamentary elections in the province, Sهtran Abdullah said: "As a Kurdish coalition, we want at least the Kurds and pro-democracy activists in the province to represent the province in the Iraqi parliament. For the PUK and the Movement for Change, Kirkuk will be the center of the Kurdistan liberation movement and a bridge between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad and the implementation of the unimplemented constitutional principles in Iraq, especially Article 140, in a way that it would represent the will of the Kurdish people.

Mr. Abdullah ultimately expressed his hope that the Iraqi parliamentary elections would be held in a calm atmosphere.

Reporter's code: 50101