Politics of Kurdistan Region
National symbols Anthem Flag
Referendums 2005 Independence poll 2017 Independence poll Kirkuk status (planned)
Government Presidency Council President Nechirvan Barzani Vice Presidents Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa Mustafa Said Qadir Prime Minister Masrour Barzani
Parliament Speaker: Rewaz Fayeq Members
Recent elections Presidential: 1992 2009 Parliamentary: 2013 2018
Political parties Democratic Party (KDP) Patriotic Union (PUK) Movement for Change (Gorran) New Generation (NG) Justice Group (KJG) Islamic Union (KIU)
Administrative divisions Silemani (Sulaymaniyah) Dohuk Hawler (Arbil) Disputed Nineveh Kirkuk Diyala
Foreign relations Diplomatic missions of Kurdistan Region to Kurdistan Region Iraqi–Kurdish conflict Kurdish nationalism
Other countries

General elections were held in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on 25 July 2009 to elect a president and the 111 members of the National Assembly. Around 2.5 million people were eligible to vote,^[1] although those outside the region were not allowed to vote.^[2] The elections had originally been scheduled to take place on 19 May, but were delayed until 25 July.^[3] A referendum to approve the constitution of Kurdistan Region originally planned for the same day was delayed until 1 August,^[1] and eventually cancelled.

Campaigning for the elections officially started on 22 June 2009 and was to be stopped 48 hours before voting started.^[4] The elections were held with 84 registration centers and 5,403 polling stations in Kurdistan Region and 5 polling stations in Baghdad.

The 111 members of the National Assembly were elected by closed list proportional representation, with a requirement that least 30% of the candidates on a list must be female.^[5] The open list system was introduced for the simultaneous governorate elections and the decision to stay with a closed list was criticised by members of the Kurdistan National Assembly who argued open lists strengthened the relationship between voters and candidates and reduced corruption.^[6]

Eleven of the 111 seats were reserved for minorities; five for Assyrians, five for Turkmen and one for Armenians.^[7]

The five presidential candidates were:

• Ahmed Mohammed Rasul (also known as Safen Haji Sheikh Mohammed)
• Masoud Barzani (incumbent president)
• Hussein Garmiyani [ckb] (a businessman)
• Halow Ibrahim Ahmed [ckb] (brother-in-law of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani)
• Kamal Mirawdeli [ckb] (a London-based scholar)

There were 509 candidates running in the National Assembly elections representing 25 parties or lists.^[8] Five of these entities were electoral alliances and others were political parties. The two main Kurdish parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq of Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of the President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani - continued their electoral coalition in the Kurdistan List. They were challenged by the Gorran Movement led by Nawshirwan Mustafa, the former deputy secretary general of the PUK and Jawhar Namiq, a former secretary general of the KDP and speaker of the Kurdistan National Assembly.^[9] The Kurdistan Islamic Union and Islamic Group in Kurdistan formed a coalition with two secular parties called the Service and Reform List.

The Assyrian seats were contested by four lists, the Turkmen seats by four and the Armenian seat by three individuals.^[5][10]

Armenian individuals:

• Aram Shahine Dawood Bakoyan (74)
• Eshkhan Malkon Sargisyan (73)
• Aertex Morses Sargisyan (75)

International observers monitored the elections, including from the European Commission.^[14][15]

During the campaign the electoral commission was reported to have fined the Kurdistan List 3 million riyals for unspecified electoral violations.^[16]

A poll of 1,000 people by the Kurdistan-based Point Organization for Opinion Polls & Strategic Studies found most thought the Gorran Movement would pose a serious challenge but 49% thought the Kurdistan List would use "threats and fraud".^[17] The Gorran Movement accused the ruling parties of sacking regional government employees who had links to their party. They also claimed that a colonel in the peshmerge regional army had been arrested for supporting them. A Kurdistan List candidate responded by saying "No party allows its members to vote for another list".^[17] The Progress List also accused regional intelligence agents of threatening to kill their supporters.^[18] Supporters of the Gorran Movement were shot at in Kifri.^[18] Supporters of the Kurdistan List and Gorran Movement clashed in Sulaimaniyah and were separated by police wielding taser guns.^[18]

The Worker-communist Party of Kurdistan boycotted the elections because it claimed conditions and principles for a fair elections were not met.

Initial reports gave the Kurdistan List 60 percent of the vote, equating to around 55 seats. The Gorran Movement claimed it had won around 28 seats.^[19]

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Change mounted a spirited challenge to the monopoly on power of the two main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, making this the first competitive election the semiautonomous enclave has seen. Turnout was put at 78.5%, an indication of the enthusiasm the contest has generated among Kurds."^[20][21]

The following tables show the results of the parliamentary and presidential votes by party and by presidential candidate.^[22] Seats in yellow indicate reserved minority seats.