IHERC postpones presidential, parliamentary elections due to recent developments

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Independent High Electoral and Referendum Commission (IHERC) on Wednesday announced the upcoming elections intended for Nov. 1 would be temporarily postponed due to recent events in the Region.

In an official statement released two weeks ahead of the election, the IHERC said they had halted preparations for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections due to the recent violence in Kirkuk and other disputed territories.

The statement also cited the lack of candidates for the elections and said the Kurdistan Parliament would convene to decide on another date.

Previously, on Aug. 14, the IHERC said it was prepared to hold the elections on Nov. 1.

However, tensions have increased between Erbil and Baghdad following the Kurdistan Region’s Sep. 25 independence referendum, which saw nearly 93 percent voting for secession from Iraq.

In the aftermath of the vote, the Iraqi government has imposed a set of punitive measures and sanctions on the Kurdistan Region for holding the plebiscite, as well as military threats.

With their recent advances, Iraqi forces and Shia militia Hashd al-Shaabi aim to regain control of most of the disputed territories between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the central government of Iraq.

On Monday, both Iraqi forces and the Shia militias took control of the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk, which has been under the protection of Peshmerga since mid-2014 after the Iraqi army collapsed and failed to defend the city from the Islamic State (IS).

Early Tuesday morning, Yezidi (Ezidi) units in the Peshmerga ranks said they reached an agreement with Ezidis within the Hashd al-Shaabi to let the militia enter the city without “any fighting or bloodshed.”

Kurdish Peshmerga forces also withdrew from Makhmour and Gwer areas south of Erbil.

Editing by G.H. Renaud