2015 Rojava local elections

2015 Northern Syria Local Elections

File:Coat of Arms of Rojava.svg

2015 Rojava local elections is located in Syria Dêrik Dêrik Girkê Legê Girkê Legê Tirbespiyê Tirbespiyê Qamişlo Qamişlo Amûdê Amûdê Dirbêsiyê Dirbêsiyê Serêkaniyê Serêkaniyê Hesekê Hesekê Til Koçer Til Koçer Çilaxa Çilaxa class=notpageimage| Councils holding elections.

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

Election

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 Assyrians, 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.

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."

See also

• 2017 Northern Syria local elections