KDP, Dawa Party call for Iraqi elections to be held on time in October

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Amid calls to postpone the upcoming Iraqi national election now scheduled for Oct. 10, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the party of former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki have called in a joint statement for the vote to go on as planned.

The statement came following a session of the KDP Politburo and a subsequent meeting at Barzani's office with Maliki, leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, in which the two stressed the importance of “holding elections on time.”

The two political figures emphasized that fair and transparent elections are crucial for national stability, according to a statement from Barzani’s office.

Despite multiple postponements of the vote and a number of parties in the Iraqi legislature having announced that they would boycott the election, including the movement of firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the federal electoral commission and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi have maintained that the vote will be held on the set date.

Baghdad’s Operations Command on Saturday decided to tighten security measures to protect polling stations and logistical support warehouses for the Electoral Commission ahead of the upcoming election.

Read More: Baghdad tightens security measures around polling stations in preparation for October elections

Editing by John J. Catherine