“On Monday, the list of names and files of the candidates will be sent to the parties that need to investigate the eligibility of the candidates,” Jumana al-Ghalai, spokesperson for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Rudaw.
The background checks will be done by the regional and federal interior ministries and integrity commissions, according to Ghalai.
The Kurdistan Region will hold parliamentary elections on June 10, two years late after multiple postponements caused by disputes between political parties and legal cases related to the electoral process.
The IHEC announced last week that two alliances, ten political parties, and 57 independent candidates registered for the vote.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Change Movement (Gorran) as well as the opposition New Generation Movement are among the parties running.
The Kurdistan Region Alliance, consisting of the Kurdistan Social Democratic Party (KSDP), the Kurdistan Communist Party and the Kurdistan Toilers' Party, and the Sardam Alliance, composed of the Kurdistan Laborers' Party (PRK), the Democratic National Union of Kurdistan (YNDK) and the Kurdistan Conservative Party, are the only alliances taking part.
The Iraqi Turkmen Front decided to participate in the polls despite its concerns over a court ruling that eliminated minority quota seats.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is standing by its choice to boycott the election, despite calls to reverse its decision. The party claimed the federal court’s ruling on the minority seats and the division of the Region into four constituencies are “unconstitutional.”
The KDP is the largest Kurdish party and the dominant force in both Erbil and Duhok provinces. Its withdrawal from the election has led many pundits to speculate that the vote may not be held as scheduled in June.
