Peregraf
A long-awaited joint conference of the Gorran (Change) Movement was postponed once again today following scenes of chaos and open confrontation between rival factions, deepening the internal crisis of the once-dominant Kurdish opposition party.
The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), which had rescheduled the meeting after an unsuccessful April attempt, was present to supervise the proceedings. However, it was forced to call off the event after disorder erupted in the hall.
A representative of the IHEC pointed toward the direction of Zargata Hill during the disruption and stated, “Because of Mr. Yasin and the chaos created here, the conference was postponed.” Yasin Hama Ali, a member of the Zargata Hill faction, was seen inside the election room during the turmoil. -He is in the election room and the direction of Zargata Hill and is authorized by Zargata Hill to deal with the commission.-
The division within Gorran remains sharp between two rival camps: the Zargata Hill faction, led by the sons of the party’s late founder Nawshirwan Mustafa, and the Kurdsat faction, headed by acting General Coordinator Dana Ahmed Majid.
“The commission asked them (Zargata Hill) to sit in their seats several times, but they kept shouting and causing chaos because they were a minority and aimed to disrupt the proceedings,” said a Gorran activist aligned with the Kurdsat wing.
Today’s conference was intended to be a unifying step forward after both factions—Kurdsat and Zargata Hill—held separate and ultimately unrecognized conferences in April. IHEC rejected both attempts due to insufficient quorum or lack of oversight.
According to sources present at today’s disrupted session, most attendees supported the Kurdsat faction, which aimed to elect a general coordinator. However, the Zargata Hill group reportedly opposed the vote, pushing for a different agenda and refusing to proceed with the election.
Hundreds of attendees from the original 2017 founding committee had gathered, sitting separately based on factional lines. The Kurdsat group had only one nominee for general coordinator, Dana Ahmed Majid. “We want the secretary general to be elected from among all members of the conference,” a Kurdsat representative told Peregraf.
In contrast, Zargata Hill leaders told reporters they had preserved the party’s organizational structure from their own April 5 conference and intended to finalize leadership after further consultations. “We have kept the cell and organizer as they are and they will be elected after the conference,” a Zargata representative said.
Background: A Movement in Decline
The internal strife comes at a time of existential crisis for the Gorran Movement. Founded by Nawshirwan Mustafa in 2009, Gorran rose to prominence by challenging the entrenched rule of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Its shock electoral debut won 25 parliamentary seats, reshaping Kurdistan Region politics.
However, following Mustafa’s death, the party suffered from leadership vacuums, public disillusionment, and internal defections. Its decision to join the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2013 and again in 2019 alienated parts of its reformist base. In the 2021 elections, Gorran won just one seat.
Today, the party risks exclusion from Iraq’s November 11 parliamentary elections if it fails to hold a legally recognized founding conference. IHEC has made clear that any further attempt must achieve quorum and operate under full procedural compliance.
With both factions entrenched in their positions—and today’s events showcasing deepening divisions—the future of Gorran hangs in the balance.