No coalitions so far for Sep. 30 Kurdistan Region election: Commission

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – No Kurdish parties have formed coalitions for the Sep. 30 Kurdistan Region elections, the Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission (IHERC) stated on Tuesday.

“So far, there are no coalitions, and [entities] have not submitted officially,” IHERC’s Party Registration Officer Zhiyar Dizayee said.

He hinted that some parties were currently in talks to form coalitions but assured the parties “have only inquired about the procedures.”

Dizayee did not reveal the names of parties who are in talks to create alliances.

The commission also wants to add four more days for parties to register as coalitions for the upcoming Sep. 30 elections.

In a statement released in May, the IHERC had set three days for registration from June 18 to 20. Those days, however, were proceeded by the post-Ramadan holiday feast, which might have restricted various parties’ abilities to meet and discuss conditions of alliance building.

“We want the different political entities to have extra time” to “form coalitions and register,” Dizayee said.

Dizayee also clarified that the commission would hold a meeting to decide on the issue, noting they had suggested June 24 as the date for the end of registration.

Meanwhile, a Kurdistan 24 correspondent reported from the IHERC office in Erbil that the commission is testing the electronic machines that hold the names of voters.

In May, the IHERC revealed it would adopt manual vote counting in the upcoming parliamentary elections, as many parties in the Kurdistan Region had alleged fraud in the May 12 Iraqi parliamentary election which used an electronic ballot casting system.

The registration process for candidates will take place from June 3 to 25, and on Aug. 25, the commission will confirm all candidates, parties, and coalitions that registered for the election.

In another statement, the IHERC said they had accepted 38 parties, entities, and lists’ registrations while rejecting others due to their failure to follow registration process procedures the institution had enforced.

The official dates for all entities to partake in election campaigns are from Sep. 1 to 28.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Kurdistan 24 correspondent Hoshmand Sadiq contributed to this report)