SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — Despite the deadline passing for Kurdistan Region’s political parties and coalitions to submit their list of candidates, uncertainty looms over the timely holding of the Kurdistan parliamentary elections. This uncertainty stems from the decision of the Region’s leading ruling party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), to abstain from participating in the election.
KDP’s decision comes in the wake of recent rulings by the Iraqi Federal Court, which declared the allocation of 11 quota seats for minorities as “unconstitutional,” thereby reducing the parliamentary seats to 100. This ruling stemmed from a complaint filed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the second-largest ruling party in the Region, advocating for a more equitable distribution of minority seats across the Region’s four constituencies.
The deadline for submitting the candidates’ list expired at midnight on Sunday after being extended multiple times. Most political parties submitted their lists of candidates, except for the KDP, which had earlier decided to boycott what it termed an “unconstitutional” and “pre-determined” election imposed by the Federal Court.
Deadline expires for submission of candidates list for Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election
Rizgar Haji Hama, a senior official of the PUK, informed his party’s media that the party is fully committed to the scheduled election on June 10th, affirming that all necessary preparations have been completed for the election.
“We encourage all political parties and factions to participate in the election,” Hama stated.
However, Mustafa Abdullah, a senior official of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), holds the KDP responsible for the potential delay in the elections. He expresses apprehension regarding the legal vacuum that could affect the institutions of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), the second-largest Islamic party in the Region, contends that holding timely elections under the present circumstances is unfeasible.
Similar to the KIU, the Komal official is of the opinion that the KDP is attempting to delay the elections, cautioning that failure to conduct elections will exacerbate the already weakened state of the Kurdistan Region.
However, the KDP spokesperson Mahmood Mohammed rebuffed the claims of seeking election delay to participate under current conditions. Mohammed asserted the party’s insistence on fair and transparent elections, calling for rectifying technical and legal issues promptly.
The parties’ concerns about the potential delay of the elections arise as KDP leader Masoud Barzani stated on Monday that his party has been striving to hold timely elections for two years, but has encountered hindrances preventing them from doing so.
Barzani explained that the current stance of the KDP is rooted in its determination to prevent any conspiracy aimed at undermining the will of the Kurdish people. He openly pointed out that external forces and the Federal Court have been involved in creating obstacles for a fair electoral process.
Barzani also called upon the international community to address legal, constitutional, and technical issues, and to assist in monitoring to ensure that the elections are conducted freely and transparently.
