Rojava local elections, 2015

Rojava
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Rojava
Symbols Flag of Rojava
Constitution Libertarian socialism Libertarian municipalism Democratic Confederalism Human rights in Rojava
Government Community government Canton government Federation government
Legislature Syrian Democratic Assembly
Elections Local (2015)
Political parties Democratic Union Party (PYD) Syriac Union Party (SUP) Wheat Wave Movement (QMH) Syrian National Democratic Alliance (SNDA) Honor and Rights Convention (HRC) Yekîtiya Star (YS) Arab National Coalition (ANC) Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDP-S) Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party (PDKS 1970) Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yek-Dem) Syrian Democratic Society (SDS) Democratic Modernity Party (DM) Democratic Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party (PB-ASD) Left Party of Syrian Kurds (LPSK) Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party (PDPKS) Assyrian Democratic Party (ADP) Syrian Kurds' Democratic Peace Party (PADKS) Democratic Transformation Party (DT) Kurdistan Liberal Union Party (PYLK) Kurdish Democratic Accord Party (Wifaq) Syrian Reform Movement (Islah) Êzîdî House (Êzîdî) Syriac National Council (SNC) Patriotic Initiative (PI)
Party alliances Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) Kurdish National Alliance in Syria (HNKS) Assembly for Democracy and the Left (KDCK) Kurdish National Council (ENKS) Syria's Tomorrow Movement (TM)
Self-governing cantons Afrin Canton Kobanî Canton Jazira Canton Shahba region
External relations Foreign relations of Rojava Syrian government relations Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict YPG–FSA relations Rojava conflict Kurdish nationalism
Other countries Atlas

In the de facto autonomous Rojava region of northern Syria, the very first local elections took place on Friday, 13 March 2015. The municipal governments in the three predominantly Kurdish cantons Cizîrê, Kobanî and Afrin were to be elected.

Election

Dêrik

Girkê Legê

Tirbespiyê

Qamişlo

Amûdê

Dirbêsiyê

Serêkaniyê

Hesekê

Til Koçer

Çilaxa

Councils holding elections.

In Cizîrê canton, 160 polling stations were opened and, according to the Rojava High Election Commission, 565 candidates stood for the twelve municipal councils of Dêrik, Girkê Legê, Tirbespiyê, East and West Qamişlo, Amûdê, Dirbêsiyê, Serêkaniyê, Hesekê, Til Koçer, Çilaxa and Ebu Raseyn. Of the 565 candidates, 237 were cited to be women, and apart from the majority being Kurdish, 39 candidates referring to themselves as Syriac/Assyrian/Qeldani, 28 Arabs and one Chechen stood for the election. In Tell Tamer (Girê Xurma), the election had to be postponed as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) troops attacked the town with mortars.

There are no results available in the internet.

Reactions

The Kurdish National Council (KNC) boycotted the elections, and a spokesperson for the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government criticized the elections as being in contradiction to the Duhok Agreement. On the other hand, Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoghbi announced that his government considered recognizing the Kurdish autonomy "within the law and constitution."