How Should We Read the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections?

The results from the Sept. 21, 2013 parliamentary elections of Iraqi Kurdistan have been announced. Though there were no real surprises in these electoral results, they are important, as they give clues as to how the future of this region will be shaped.
 
Though the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) had taken part in previous elections with completely shared lists, this time -- for the first time ever -- they went into the elections with separate lists. In the meantime of course, Jalal Talabani, referred to as “Mam Jalal” (Uncle Jalal) and who played a founding role in the new Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, is nowhere to be seen on the political spectrum. In fact, many of the older figures who helped form this region and who came to the scene from the Kurdish armed conflict are beginning to abandon the political stage. Wealthier Kurds now wish to live in peace, and to see civilization brought to Iraqi Kurdistan. Typical politics there, based on tribal and dialect differences, had begun to break down this structure. Which is why Gorran (or the Movement for Change Party) and various Kurdish Islamic parties have begun to pick up the votes and the support of regional people.
 
As was expected under these conditions, the KDP, under the leadership of Barzani, was in fact the first place party. With 719,004 votes, it picked up 38.32 percent of the vote. It will likely take 38 seats in the 111-seat Iraqi Kurdistan parliament. At the same time, the absence of Talabani on the scene, and the resulting political vacuum inside the PUK, has opened the way forward for Gorran. Gorran came in second place for the first time ever, taking 446,095 votes, or 23.77 percent of the total vote. It is expected that Gorran will take 24 seats in the new parliamentary configuration. Talabani's PUK came in third place, with 323,867 votes, amounting to a lesser 17.26 percent of the vote, and an anticipated 17 seats in the parliament. These most recent elections also saw the Kurdish Islamic Union (with 178,681 votes, amounting to 9.52 percent of the vote and nine seats in parliament) and the Kurdish Islamic Community (with 113,260 votes, amounting to 6.04 percent of the total and six seats in the parliament), as two of the parties that managed to increase their support this time around. There is a quota of 11 seats for minorities set aside in the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament. This quota breaks down to five seats apiece for the Turkmen and the Christians and one seat for the Armenians. The Turkmen entered into these elections with five lists, picking up around 8,000 votes along the way.  It is predicted that each list will be represented by one seat. According to election results, the first place list from these Turkmen belongs to the Arbil Turkmen List, which has close ties to the Çelebi family. As for the Iraq Turkmen Front, it came in third place. This whole situation was a complete disappointment from the perspective of the Iraqi Turkmen because it is speculated that in Arbil alone the population of Turkmen is around 400,000.
 
Since it is most likely that the KDP will be the formative force in the new regional government, no significant changes are expected in relations between the Iraqi Kurdistan region and Turkey in the coming years. It is anticipated that not only political and economic relations, but also social relations will be furthered between the region and Turkey. All of the political moves made in Iraqi Kurdistan tend towards developing relations with Turkey in a multitude of dimensions. The Kurds see Turkey as a piece of the West, and of civilization. For this reason, as Iraqi Kurdistan becomes more of a confirmed state, it feels more and more of a need for Turkey. In general, the Kurds have a wish to be differentiated from the rest of the Middle East and the Arab world. This is a tendency that is becoming more and more developed in Iraqi Kurdistan. One clear sign of this desire to be differentiated from the world around them is the use of the Latin alphabet by Syrian Kurds, and efforts being made to see the Latin alphabet used throughout Iraqi Kurdistan as a whole.