Peregraf – The prolonged internal conflict within the Gorran (Change) Movement concluded today with the election of Dana Ahmed Majid as the party’s new General Coordinator. This development marks a decisive shift away from the faction led by the sons of the movement’s late founder, Nawshirwan Mustafa.
The election took place during a conference in Kirkuk, supervised by the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC). Majid secured a majority of votes from the participants. Meanwhile, the "Zargata Hill" faction—representing Mustafa’s sons and constituting a minority at the gathering—walked out of the venue prior to the vote.
Internal disputes had previously prevented the movement from holding a legitimate party conference, effectively barring it from participating in the Iraqi parliamentary elections held on November 11, 2025. An earlier attempt to convene on April 25, 2025, was abandoned following disruptions, which the IHEC representative attributed to Yasin Hama Ali of the Zargata Hill faction. Two other separate conferences attempted by the "Kurdsat" and "Zargata Hill" factions also failed to secure IHEC approval. Today’s conference in Kirkuk has officially and legally resolved the leadership impasse.
A Movement in Transition
Founded by Nawshirwan Mustafa in 2009, the Gorran Movement once challenged the established dominance of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). In its debut election, the party won 25 parliamentary seats, significantly reshaping the political landscape of the Kurdistan Region.
However, since Mustafa’s death, the party has struggled with leadership vacuums, internal defections, and declining public support. Decisions to join the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2013 and 2019 alienated segments of its reformist base, resulting in Gorran securing only a single seat in the 2021 elections. Today’s leadership election under Dana Ahmed Majid represents a potential turning point in the party’s efforts to regain political relevance.