Campaign violations in Sulaimani as Commission, Governorate issue warnings

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Campaign violations persist in the Kurdistan Region, with the Sulaimani governorate and Electoral Commission reiterating that culprits will be fined accordingly as the election date nears.

“The commission and the Municipality of Sulaimani will not stop any party from campaigning, but we will not accept any violations by any entity,” the Independent High Election and Referendum Commission [IHERC] office in the city told Kurdistan 24 on Thursday.

The office revealed that 54 infractions had been logged from the beginning of campaigning just last week for the Sep. 30 parliamentary election.

“Despite the guidelines [laid down by the Commission and the Governorate], one entity [in particular] continues to violate the rules,” Diyar Nasruddin, deputy director of the IHERC office in Sulaimani, told Kurdistan 24 without specifying which party. He added that his office has been following the proper procedures to report all cases.

The governorate of Sulaimani has given the IHERC and the Municipality the power to penalize any candidate or party breaking campaign rules and remove any logo, flyer, and poster erected, in accordance with the provincial government law.

“It is not allowed for any party or entity to use electric poles for campaigning or to hang flyers, and we have the authority to remove these adverts,” reaffirmed Zardasht Rafiq, the media office of the Sulaimani Municipality’s director.

A week earlier, the IHERC fined seven parties and candidates in Erbil for violating electoral laws a day after campaigning for the Sep. 30 parliamentary election began.

Editing by Nadia Riva