US sides with Abadi on election date despite calls for postponement

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The US Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday announced that Washington opposes the postponement of Iraq’s elections amid mounting concerns the country is unprepared to hold them.

“The US government strongly supports the Iraqi national elections in May 2018 in line with Iraq’s constitution,” a statement released by the embassy read.

“The postponement of the elections will set a dangerous precedent, undermine the constitution, and harm the long-term democratic development of Iraq,” the statement added.

Sunni parties in Iraq, however, have called on the Iraqi Parliament to hold off on the elections for at least another year to allow Iraqi security forces to secure liberated areas and for displaced persons to return.

“The necessary conditions for holding elections—including the return of displaced people, stabilization and security in liberated areas to create an election atmosphere, and the return of weapons to the state—have not been met in the Sunni-populated governorates,” a statement by the Iraqi Forces Coalition, one of the largest Sunni blocs in Baghdad, read on Wednesday.

In response, the US has promised to provide assistance that will “help ensure that Iraqi voices are heard and counted, including the voices of nearly 2.6 million Iraqis still displaced from their homes in liberated areas.”

The calls for postponement come a day after the Iraqi Presidency’s appeal to the Parliament and political parties to begin serious measures to approve and set a final date for holding the elections.

During a weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi insisted there would be no postponement of the elections.

Iraq’s local and parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 12, a few months after Iraqi forces declared final victory over the Islamic State, which still threatens many areas with guerilla-style attacks.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany