Much to Be Proud of In Our Journey to Democracy: My Talk at the Middle East Institute

Today, I spoke at the Middle East Institute about the Kurdistan’s historic elections – and I had nothing but pride to share with the packed room. I told the attendees that I am proud that we held peaceful, fair, democratic elections recognized as such by international bodies such as the United Nations and the Presidency of the European Union. I am proud that the new Parliament will be at least 30 percent female - a percentage that is greater than any national or regional government in the Middle East, North American and most of Europe! I am proud that the Parliament has representation from every religious and ethnic constituency within the region. I am proud that democracy is finding a welcome in Iraqi Kurdistan.

In 17 years since the first elected Regional Government of Kurdistan, democracy we have made enourmous progress, but I admitted that we still have a long way to go. I noted that our path towards democracy has been bumpy – at times very bumpy – and sometimes the journey has faced roadblocks, some that we have placed for ourselves. But each day, each week, each month, the journey moves forward toward that destination of democracy.

That, to me, is the key to progress.

Continuing to ensure transparency and efficiency in our region’s government is also a major step toward our destination. I informed the attendees that in July, the KRG teamed up with world renowned consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers to review all governance related issues – to help us develop a clear-eyed, blunt critique and action plan to address the crucial issues of good governance, anti-corruption and transparency. This multi-year endeavor will ultimately improve how our government serves its people.

One cannot create a perfect democracy over night or even in 17 years. I think that members of the audience today at MEI understand that Kurdistan remains on a journey to democracy – and that we have achieved much in our experiment in democratic self governance. Of course there is much more to achieve - and we intend to achieve it.

You can view my entire speech here

As Kurdistan evolves, D.C. remains the same

Fresh from an exciting trip to the Kurdistan Region, and off the back of our momentous elections, I'm back in Washington, D.C.. While some evolution has taken place in Kurdistan, it looks like not much changes in 'good old' Washington. Even after what has largely been dubbed a resoundingly successful election, some US based political pundits, scholars and intellectuals, still cant help but only focus on the negatives.

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of joining my friends Henri Barkey of the Carnegie Endowment, author Aliza Marcus and Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group to discuss the Kurdistan Region’s recent elections and their implications for Iraq.

Some of my fellow panelists, all of whom I admire and respect, either tried to pain a picture of looming instability in Kurdistan in the post election period (between KDP-PUK and/or Baghdad and Erbil) or, rather than focus on the big picture, they focused on the regrettable incidents that occured during the election period, involving over-excited party loyalists, the few skirmishes that took place and the very unfortunate death of a citizen from friendly celebratory gunfire . These incidents, while regrettable, should not overshadow the fantastic and rigorous campaign and election process where almost 80 percent of the eligible voters in Iraqi Kurdistan participated.

Our region’s fledgling democracy conducted as smooth an election that can be found in any emerging nation. While vote-rigging commonly plagues young democracies—and accusations of foul play are largely ignored—in the Kurdistan Region our elections have been declared well-organized, peaceful and secure by third-parties from the U.N. to the E.U, and in accordance with international standards by the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq (IHEC). We are expecting certified results from IHEC within days. These are facts that should not be overlooked.

Adding to this positive news, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Kurdistan Region’s President Masoud Barzani vowed on Sunday to “resolve disputes over land and oil.” It is a promising time for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. I just hope Washington’s intellectuals can see what is truly occurring here. Yesterday at least I wasn’t going to let their skepticism get the best of them.

Listen to the discussion at the Carnegie Endowment, or you can view some of my remarks at this link on the KRG’s YouTube channel.