Kurdistan
Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of Kurdistan Region, (right) meeting with UNAMI Chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on May 9, 2024. Photo: Qubad Talabani/X
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), on Thursday warned that further postponement of Kurdistan Region’s legislative elections will cause “irreparable” damage to the Region.
“Further delay in elections will cause irreparable damage to the Kurdistan Region and further weaken our institutions,” Qubad Talabani said in a post on X after meeting with United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Thursday.
The Kurdistan Region is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on June 10, after nearly two years of delays. The possibility of a further delay has been reported in recent weeks, after the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced that it would not be participating in protest over rulings from Iraq’s top court that the party deemed detrimental to the Region’s political entity.
Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has temporarily suspended the preparations for Kurdistan Region’s elections pending the ruling on a lawsuit filed by the Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani against the division of seats for the constituencies at the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court, the body’s spokesperson told Rudaw on Wednesday.
The court ruled to temporarily suspend working with Article 2 of the candidate registration and approval system for the Kurdistan Region’s elections until a ruling is made on the lawsuit by Barzani.
Qubad Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has strongly opposed further delay of elections but Lahur Talabani, former co-chair of PUK, who has been expelled from the party and established his own party, told reporters on Thursday that Qubad Talabani had secretly struck a deal with the KDP to postpone the polls.
“Further delay in elections will cause irreparable damage to the Kurdistan Region and further weaken our institutions,” Qubad Talabani said in a post on X after meeting with United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Thursday.
The Kurdistan Region is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on June 10, after nearly two years of delays. The possibility of a further delay has been reported in recent weeks, after the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced that it would not be participating in protest over rulings from Iraq’s top court that the party deemed detrimental to the Region’s political entity.
On 9 May, SRSG Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met in Erbil with Mr. Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister, Kurdistan Region. They discussed the current political developments in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. pic.twitter.com/E8zvW1lw8r
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) May 10, 2024
Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has temporarily suspended the preparations for Kurdistan Region’s elections pending the ruling on a lawsuit filed by the Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani against the division of seats for the constituencies at the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court, the body’s spokesperson told Rudaw on Wednesday.
The court ruled to temporarily suspend working with Article 2 of the candidate registration and approval system for the Kurdistan Region’s elections until a ruling is made on the lawsuit by Barzani.
Qubad Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has strongly opposed further delay of elections but Lahur Talabani, former co-chair of PUK, who has been expelled from the party and established his own party, told reporters on Thursday that Qubad Talabani had secretly struck a deal with the KDP to postpone the polls.
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