Protected from the violence in the rest of the country by efficient intelligence and 80,000 militiamen, the party faithful in Iraq's Kurdish northeast drive through city streets blaring horns and waving election banners.
Photos of hopeful candidates are everywhere: on lamp posts, cars, and - illegally - on the walls of government offices.
Never paragons of objectivity, party-sponsored radio and television stations have given themselves over almost entirely to propaganda. 'Dear uncle Jelal, dear uncle Jelal,' booms a singer, referring to one party leader.
'Today is the day, today is Kurdistan's day,' sings another.
It is a sentiment that sums up well the attitudes of the vast majority of Kurds. At odds with Baghdad since the founding of Iraq, and treated with increasing brutality by successive governments, they know today's elections are crucial to the defence of the autonomy they have enjoyed since 1991.
'The parliament Iraqis elect will have until August 15 to draft Iraq's new constitution,' explained Noshirwan Mustafa, founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two largest Kurdish parties. 'We must be united, and we must be there in numbers.'