SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has officially submitted its candidates’ list for the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region to the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). Rizgar Haji Hama, as stated by Rizgar Haji Hama, the head of the party’s electoral office, to PUK Media on Sunday.
The decision follows an announcement by IHEC spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalai, stating that the submission deadline has been extended until Sunday at midnight, local time.
“Today, we have officially submitted the list of our candidates for all four constituencies: Sulaimani, Erbil, Duhok, and Halabja, to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). We are fully prepared for the Kurdistan Parliamentary Election,” Hama told his party’s official media.
The Kurdistan parliamentary elections are slated for June 10. However, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Region’s top ruling party, has not yet submitted its list of candidates, as it plans to boycott the elections due to concerns about a recent ruling by the Iraqi Federal Court.
The perceived boycott of the elections by the KDP has raised concerns regarding the conduct of the elections, as expressed by both international and local figures.
Reactions emerge following KDP’s decision to boycott parliamentary election
The federal court ruling deemed the allocation of 11 quota seats reserved for minority representation unconstitutional. As a result, parliamentary seats have been reduced to 100. This decision came after a complaint by the PUK, the second-largest ruling party, which called for a “fair” distribution of minority seats across the four constituencies in the Region.
