Kurdistan Region parties reaffirm support for election date amid rumors of postponement

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Less than a month before the start of the election campaign for parliament, a number of political parties on Saturday reaffirmed their support for the vote to be held on Sep. 30 amid rumors of parliamentary factions looking to delay it.

“There are rumors of factions attempting to postpone the election,” member of the Turkmen Front in Kurdistan Region Parliament, Aiden Maruf, claimed after affirming his party’s full support for the already-announced election date in an interview with Kurdistan 24.

“If the election doesn’t take place at the designated time, then Parliament has to extend its term again,” Shwan Sheikh Ahmad, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in parliament, told Kurdistan 24. He recalled that the elections were originally set to take place on Nov. 1, 2017, but were delayed due to complications following the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum.

The first delay was presented to the Kurdistan Parliament and approved by 60 out of 71 MPs attending the special session held in October, shortly after Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias drove Kurdish Peshmerga forces out of disputed territories.

Unlike last year, KDP Election Office Director Khasraw Goran explains, “the Commission has made all the necessary arrangements, and all political parties have registered for the election.”

“Previously, Parliament extended its rule by two terms and it is not possible to do this again, especially since, right now, the Kurdistan Region is not facing any external threats.”

“The election must take place on Sept. 30 and cannot be delayed,” Goran affirmed.

Sherko Hamad-Amin, a member of the parliamentary opposition, the Movement for Change (Gorran) party, emphasized, without specifying his party’s preferred date for the election, the importance of holding the vote, describing it as “a pillar of democracy.”

To avoid exacerbating tensions that arose during the May 12 national Iraqi elections, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in parliament, Said Maseefi, called on all parties to meet and ensure there’s a united front regarding the official date of the election.

“Before the election campaign starts, political parties must meet to address the public’s concerns,” and “decide on the [possible delay],” Maseefi stated.

According to information received by Kurdistan 24, in the coming ten days, the KRG, the Kurdistan Region’s Parliament, and the Kurdistan Region's Independent High Electoral and Referendum Commission (IHERC) will reach a final decision on the election date.

Editing by Nadia Riva