“We renewed our call on the Kurdistan Democratic Party to retract its decision not to participate in the [Kurdistan] Region's elections,” Shiite cleric and head of Iraq's National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim wrote on X following a meeting with Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law coalition.
“[We] stressed that the democratic path in the country and the [Kurdistan] Region needs everyone,” he added.
The KDP on Monday announced its decision to boycott the Kurdistan general elections, citing their dissatisfaction with changes imposed by Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on the electoral process, including the elimination of minority quota seats and the introduction of a multi-constituency system, as the reason for their boycott.
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court last month ruled that the 11 quota seats in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament reserved for ethnic and religious minorities were unconstitutional, effectively eliminating the seats.
The KDP politburo said in a statement on Monday that the ruling constituted a continuation of the court’s “unconstitutional rulings against the Kurdistan Region in the past four years,” labeling it “a clear and dangerous violation of the constitution” and an attempt to “return Iraq to a centralized system.”
On the same day, Hakim called on the KDP to “review” its decision and urged party Leader Masoud Barzani to retract his stance, and continue “with the democratic approach.”
Foreign diplomatic missions on Monday stated their concern with the KDP’s decision.
“We are concerned by KDP’s announcement to boycott the Iraqi Kurdistan Region elections. We urge the Government of Iraq & the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that elections are free, fair, transparent, & credible,” United States Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski stated in a post on X.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) stated on X that it has “taken note” of the KDP’s decision as it did with the Federal Court’s decision last month, calling on all parties to “work in the interest of the people, and thus towards solutions, rather than another prolonged impasse. The holding of the 10 June KRI elections is essential.”
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the KDP’s main rival and key power sharer in the Kurdistan Region, stressed its commitment to hold the elections on time.
The PUK is “committed to the June 10 date for the Kurdistan parliament elections as set by the Region’s President [Nechirvan Barzani],” said Saadi Pira, the party’s spokesperson, in a statement.
Despite the KDP’s boycott, the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) still plans to go ahead with the vote on June 10, according to Imad Jamil, the head of the electoral body’s media team.
