Kurds to Boycott 22 April Election
DAMASCUS, Syria, -AKI- Mar 28, 2007-
Kurdish political groups in Syria say they will boycott parliamentary elections
scheduled for 22 April because they allege some 100,000 people from the
country's Kurdish community have not been allowed to participate in the poll.
Current electoral law in Syria "does not guarantee conditions for free
elections... and does not recognise political or community pluralism," the
groups said in a joint statement. Kurds who number in Syria between one and 1.5
million say they face discrimination and other forms of exclusion from public
life.
The decision by the Kurdish parties to boycott the election follows an
announcement last week by the majority of opposition parties in Syria not to
participate in the vote.
Some 10,000 candidates are set to contest 250 parliamentary seats, 167 of which
are reserved for the ruling Baath part and its allies.
Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria making up 10% of the country's
population i.e. about two million. Most of them are Sunni Muslims; there are
also Yazidi Kurds in Syria. A very small number are Christians and Alawis.
