My fellow citizens,
Political parties and factions in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,
I congratulate everyone on holding successful elections for the Council of Representatives. Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are now in a new phase and regardless of the final outcome of the elections, everyone is a winner. We need to come together and prepare ourselves for our collective duties, responsibilities and challenges ahead.
Unity, tolerance and partnership among all of us are the keys to success, which ensure the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region. It is the way we can protect our hard-won achievements, the federal system and political entity of the Kurdistan Region. All political parties and forces of Kurdistan need to come together in unity and common purpose, and fulfill our joint duty and responsibility. We need to work together for a better present and a promising future for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. And for this purpose, we must cooperate with the Iraqi sides and parties.
It is our duty as Iraq’s political parties and factions to take serious steps towards resolving the problems of the country through realistic and new understanding and vision, and by drawing lessons from past errors. This is how we can work for a stable and prosperous Iraq in which the constitutional rights of all communities are ensured and safeguarded. And this is the Iraq that will bring us together in harmony, mutual trust, collaboration, common destiny, collective efforts, the public interest, genuine partnership, consensus and equality.
I thank citizens, all parties and institutions, the administrative and security apparatuses, the media and civil society institutions, which were supportive in holding calm election campaigns. I thank the efforts of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission, local and foreign observers, the United Nations teams, especially the Head of the UNAMI team in Iraq, the European Union and the Arab League who monitored the election process. It is the right step on the right path. Our participation in the election of our representatives in Baghdad demonstrates our commitment to democratic values and principles.
At the same time, the voter turnout is a clear message from the citizens that they expect better livelihood and improved public services, which they are entitled to. This should be a lesson for all of us in the government and the political parties in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, encouraging us for serious reassessments and reestablishment of trust. It should also encourage us to work and serve more.
It is time now to work together and form a patriotic federal government which mirrors the will and expectations of the citizens; a government which implements the constitution, empowers state institutions, assumes control of the extrajudicial armed groups, corrects the political process based on the constitution and partnership of all Iraqi communities, and takes charge of the country towards a better future for everyone.
I wish everyone success.
Nechirvan Barzani
The President of the Kurdistan Region