By Farhad H. Abdullah

Abstract
The consequences of the Kurdistan Regional Government parliamentary election that took place on the 30th September 2018 created an imbalance of power in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to an extent that even the party with the most votes in the election (the Kurdistan Democratic Party) cannot form a government alone or in a coalition with smaller parties. Nevertheless, the Kurdistan Democratic Party has been able to save face by pushing forward a political and party discourse that argues that the results of the elections and the imbalance of power that it presented are a natural democratic occurrence that demonstrates the democratic development and awareness of Kurdish society. The party also argues that the result is, in fact, a reward for them as it reflects the success of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s history in struggling for the democratisation and freedom of Kurdistan. However, neither of the arguments put forward by the Kurdistan Democratic Party can be accepted as the cause of this new political reality in Kurdistan as the Kurdistan Democratic Party has not been able to achieve any significant advancements for the Kurds in spite of their nationalist projects (such as the independence referendum), something the majority in society fundamentally criticise. Furthermore, it is argued that if a genuinely democratic election is held, then Iraqi Kurdistan’s dominant political parties (especially the Kurdistan Democratic Party) will find themselves as minorities in any future parliament. It is for this reason that this article will look into the question, what are the causes of the Power-Balance collapse in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq? Also, what impact will the new power arrangement have on the future of the Iraqi Kurdish political process?
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