Ali Hama Saleh
Ali Hama Saleh | |
|---|---|
عەلی حەمە ساڵح تەها | |
| Member of the Kurdistan Region Parliament | |
| 5th term | Kurdistan Region Parliament |
| Parliamentary group | National Stance Movement |
| Constituency | Sulaymaniyah |
| Founder and Leader of the National Stance Movement | |
| Assumed office 19 March 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
Ali Hama Saleh Taha (Kurdish: عەلی حەمە ساڵح تەها, romanised: Elî Heme Saleh Teha, born 16 April 1984) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician, anti-corruption activist and former television presenter. He was a member of the Kurdistan Region Parliament[1] during its fourth and fifth terms between 2013 and 2023, and founded the National Stance Movement (Halwest) party in 2024.
Biography
Saleh became known as a television show host on Nawshirwan Mustafa's Kurdish News Network. He gained the nickname "The Calculator" for detailed financial breakdowns of land and oil deals and parliamentary benefits that he alleged to represent corruption.[2]
He was elected to the Kurdistan Region Parliament as a member of the Gorran Movement in 2013 with 139,000 votes.[2][3] At the time of the 2018 corruption scandal in the party, provoked by the seizure of party assets by its late founder Nawshirwan Mustafa's American- or British-educated sons Çiya and Nima, he was reported to be close to Mustafa's sons and publicly contested the allegations against them.[4]
He was regarded as the most active and reputable MP during the fifth term of the Kurdistan Region Parliament (2019–2023).[2] In 2021, he attended the trial of journalist Sherwan Sherwani in Erbil and spoke out against Sherwani's conviction on the charges of "gathering classified information and passing it covertly to foreign actors in exchange for substantial sums of money" (he also attended Sherwani's new trial in 2025[5]).[6] In April 2022, he joined the Erbil protests against Turkey's Operation Claw-Lock as a private citizen, citing the parliament's failure to condemn Turkish invasion of the region.[7]
After leaving the Gorran Movement, Saleh founded a new opposition party called the National Stance Movement on 19 March 2024. The party is centered around the fight against corruption.[8] Saleh repeatedly declared his refusal to discuss entering government coalitions with either the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) or the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and his party joined an opposition front led by the Kurdistan Islamic Union following the 2024 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election.[9]
At the time of the 2025 Iraqi parliamentary election, he described the National Stance Movement, with its reliance on social media, as "a party that campaigned through mobile phones, competing with two very large parties". He demanded ministerial portfolios for opposition Kurdish parties in the federal government of Iraq to pursue oil interests as well as those of civil servants and farmers.[10]
In late January 2026, shortly after the ceasefire extension in the Syrian transitional government's offensive against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), Saleh led a delegation of members of the Kurdistan Region Parliament and political party representatives from the Kurdistan Region with a shipment of medical aid to Qamishli in the DAANES. In a speech at the Kurdish Red Crescent headquarters there, he called on the Kurdish community internationally to "set aside our differences and unify our stance", and promised more aid to come.[11]
References
- ^ KRG, 'technical staff' uncover lucrative cross-border fraud and smuggling network, Rudaw Media Network, 14-09-2020.
- ^ a b c Tahir, Rawaz; Osgood, Patrick (18 February 2014). "Q&A: The Calculator". Iraq Oil Report. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016.
- ^ "Kurdish MP to file corruption suits against Iraqi Kurdistan officials". The Insight International. 8 May 2016. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Hawramy, Fazel (9 July 2018). "Iraqi Kurdistan's Movement for Change faces rebellion from within". Al-Monitor.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Menmy, Dana Taib (21 August 2025). "Amnesty International condemns in Iraq's Erbil unfair trial and extended detention of journalist Sherwan Sherwani". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 21 August 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Majeed, Rebaz (18 February 2021). "In Iraqi Kurdistan, Court Convicts Journalists of Spying". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Iraqi Kurds in Erbil protest against Turkey's cross-border operation". Kurdish Voice (Greece). 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 20 June 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "حزبێكی نوێ له سلێمانی راگهیهندرا؛ عهلی حهمهساڵح و هاوڕێكانی تێدایه". Xendan. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Kurdish election's lower-finishing parties to form united opposition front". The New Region. 3 December 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Kurdish opposition leaders voice cautious optimism as Iraq votes". Rudaw. 11 November 2025. Archived from the original on 10 February 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "2,000 packages of medicine arrive in Qamishlo from South Kurdistan". Hawar News Agency. 26 January 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.