Violence erupted in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya while demonstrations took place in Kirkuk over allegations of ballot rigging as Iraq awaits election results.
Gunfire broke out on Saturday night between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the party which historically controls the city, and the Movement for Change, or Gorran.
Hoshyar Ali, Head of Department of Diplomatic Relation for Gorran told The National that the PUK and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) were responsible for the "atrocious" acts against the movement.
"This was premeditated and deliberate attack with heavy weaponry against the leadership of Gorran Movement and activists," Mr Ali said, adding that voting had been rigged in "an absurd manner".
Witnesses on the ground reported the use of heavy machine guns and AK47s by PUK forces.
“Six people have been wounded but an official account has not been announced by hospitals in Sulamaniyah,” Mr Ali said.
Earlier on Saturday, Gorran and three other Kurdish parties accused the PUK of electoral fraud.
Security was tight given the lingering threat from ISIS. One policeman was killed and five wounded by mortar in eastern Iraq, a local official said, but there were no major incidents.
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Read more:
Iraq elections 2018: Kirkuk minorities claim voting violations
Iraq elections 2018: First polls since ISIS defeat
Iraq vice president says elections alone will not solve the country’s problems
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Voter turnout was 44.52 per cent with 92 per cent of votes counted, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said on Sunday.
More than half of the nearly 24.5 million voters did not show up at the ballot box in the parliamentary election, the highest abstention rate since the first multiparty elections in 2005, although it passed off largely peacefully.
It’s significantly lower than previous elections, the results are expected to be announced on Monday.
“This election takes the Kurdish region back to 1992 where the [Kurdish] civil war erupted, Iraq as a whole will suffer from huge setbacks and the elections will become a sham," Mr Ali said.
More than 15 bloody years since the ouster of former dictator Saddam Hussien, there is deep scepticism about the country’s political system dominated by an elite seen as corrupt and sectarian.
PUK officials claimed their party won most of the province's seats in the Iraqi parliamentary elections even though no result was officially released.
In a joint statement the Gorran Movement along with other Kurdish parties rejected the "whole elections process and results" urging for a new election in the KRG and Kirkuk. They demanded a manual recount of the votes.
Just west of Sulaimaniya in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk tensions peaked when the city governor, Rakan Al Jubouri, along with the head of the Turkmen Front, Arshad Al Salehi, demanded a manual recount of the votes, citing technical glitches in the electronic voting machines.
"The security situation in the city is very concerning, there are thousands of Turkmen and Arabs demonstrating outside of the IHEC's main office fearing that their voices are not going to heard," Mr Al Salehi told The National.
“We demand the authorities protect the rights of citizens in Kirkuk,” he said.
In response, the IHEC announced on Sunday that it will send a committee to “investigate the allegations of Arabs and Turkmens in Kirkuk of voter rigging.”
Also on Sunday Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi called for the tightening of security in the north.
Mr Al Abadi ordered the security forces in Kirkuk and other provinces of the Kurdistan Region to tighten control while remaining neutral in affairs related to the election.
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
MATCH INFO
Bangla Tigers 108-5 (10 ovs)
Ingram 37, Rossouw 26, Pretorius 2-10
Deccan Gladiators 109-4 (9.5 ovs)
Watson 41, Devcich 27, Wiese 2-15
Gladiators win by six wickets
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company%20profile
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