KDP member urges Ninewa governor to stop “fiery” anti-Kurdish statements

NINEWA /Iraqi News A leading member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party called on the governor of Ninewa to refrain from his “fiery” statements against the Kurds and the KDP, accusing the governor of “election rigging” in some areas in Ninewa. “Ninewa Governor Atheel al-Nejeifi has to stop his fiery statements against the KDP and accusations against Bayrouz Hassan Maho, the director of the special vote counting section, just because she is key member of the KDP,” Ghazi Farman, the KDP’s Branch 14 information chief, told Iraqi News. The KDP is led by Massoud Barazani, the president of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan Region. “Aren’t the Kurds entitled to assume posts in the state departments, including the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC)?” wondered Farman. “Nejeifi’s statements just spark sectarian and ethnic sentiments between the Arabs and Kurds. He has to refrain from leveling accusations without evidence in a time all information indicate that his al-Hadbaa List is involved in rigging in the districts of al-Hadar, al-Qiyara and Rubaia’a south and northwest of Mosul,” he added. Nejeifi had accused Maho of involvement in vote manipulation, which had been dismissed by the Kurds. Mosul, the capital city of the province of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. AmR (S)/SR 1