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A passerby looks at posters of candidates for the Iraqi parliamentary election, Erbil. GLOBE PHOTO/Safin Hamed

Party interests should not, at any cost, override general national interests. This is particularly the case for the Goran (Change) movement and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Suleimaniya.

The election campaign in Suleimaniya is particularly tense between these two competing groups. There are early signs that it may spark violence if the concerned parties fail to take proper action and precaution.

PUK, the second largest and influential political party in the Kurdistan region has been going through an internal strife for some time and finally split up when an influential leader of PUK, Nawshirwan Mustafa, abandoned the party and established the Goran movement. In the previous parliamentary election in Kurdistan (in 2009) the Goran list surprisingly had a landslide victory in the Suleimaniya province where it used to be stronghold of PUK led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, commonly known by people as Mam Jalal. This was a serious blow to PUK as it lost considerably in its own traditional stronghold. While Goran failed to succeed in other provinces of Kurdistan region --including the capital city of Erbil and the border province of Duhok-nonetheless, having majority votes in the Suleimaniya province brought the Goran to a serious position as it reduced the power of PUK and upturned the political balance in the region.

Following a lengthy period of civil war between the two main political parties in Kurdistan, in effect, PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, have finally come to a strategic agreement and unified their forces during the US war in Iraq to preserve the national gains in Kurdistan. This unity between KDP and PUK since 2003 is one of the most fundamental pillars of the success behind the Kurdistan Region following the demise ofSaddam's regime. Political unity on strategic issues amongst the Kurdish political organizations is essential for the protection, preservation and progression of Kurdish national gains and interests in Iraq.

With the sudden advent of the Goran movement in Suleimaniya the political unity in Kurdistan requires a fresh modification and new principles must be developed. The Goran movement must be recognized as a political entity in Kurdistan and its democratic and institutional rights must be protected by the KRG. At the same time, the Goran movement must recognize and respect the Kurdistan constitution and KRG. As a sizeable opposition group within the Kurdistan Parliament, Goran should play a proper opposition role to check and criticize KRG's policies in Kurdistan region.

After all those years of civil strife and struggle it is time for the Kurdish political actors to have maturity tolerance towards one another. Acceptanceand respect should be within the framework of Kurdish national interests.

Understandably, the PUK is struggling very hard to regain its lost position in Suleimaniya while the Goran push further to increase its size and popularity in the same city. Prior to the election campaigns there were harsh exchanges between both parties through their controlled media outlets. According to media reports the situation in Suleimaniya is tense as verbal and media-based accusations and blames are escalating between the two sides.

It is a strategic importance both for the Goran and for the PUK to have a democratic and peaceful election campaign rather than accusing each other and getting out of the context of election campaigns. The Goran should not act as a spoiled new comer nor should the PUK act as the tithe holder of Suleimaniya.

All the participating political organizations in Kurdistan in the Iraqi parliamentary election must realize that a united political position in Iraqi parliament is an absolute necessity for the Kurds to secure their rightful status and resolve their outstanding problems with Baghdad. For this a common strategic understanding and political program needs to be devised and all the involved parties should act within the parameters of this strategic agreement.

Opposition within unity abroad should be the main principle guidance of all the political parties in Kurdistan. This is particularly the case for the Goran. Having succeeded in the last election in Kurdistan, Goran secured the main opposition group in the Kurdistan parliament but it should not play the opposition role in Iraqi parliament. Parliamentarians from Kurdistan in Baghdad, regardless of their political background, represent the people of Kurdistan and their priority is to safeguard the economic and political interests of Kurdistan and its people in Baghdad.