Election campaign posters are being removed from Penjwen streets. (Photo: Penjwen Municipality)
'Unpleasant look'
Months on from Kurdistan Region elections, Penjwen district cleans up lingering campaign clutter
PENJWEN — More than four months after the Kurdistan parliamentary elections, the Penjwen district municipality in Sulaymaniyah has launched a cleanup campaign to remove leftover election posters, flags, and banners from its streets.
A statement from Sulaymaniyah Municipality said the initiative aims to restore the district’s appearance by clearing main thoroughfares of campaign materials and commercial advertisements that have altered its look. The statement noted that remnants of posters, banners, and flags from the elections and advertisements had given Penjwen an “unpleasant look.”
The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections for its 100-seat legislative chamber on Oct. 20, 2024. The cleanup follows a 20-day period of public gatherings and political events that ran from Sept. 25 to midnight Oct. 15, during which an abundance of posters and banners blanketed public spaces and flags were affixed to nearly every pole and lamp post.
Following the vote, Marwan Mohammed, head of the Erbil office of Iraq’s electoral commission, told 964media that candidates had one month to remove their posters and banners from streets and public spaces. He stated that failure to comply would result in fines. The commission also urged political parties to remove campaign materials after the elections. Although most posters in city centers were taken down, many remain in remote areas, along highways, and in some district centers like Penjwen.
