Kurdistan's largest party welcomes preliminary Iraq election results

The KDP won 33 seats in Iraq's parliamentary election on Oct. 10, an eight-seat increase compared to the previous election cycle.
A KDP supporter attends an election rally of his party at the Erbil citadel in the capital of Kurdistan Region, Oct. 7, 2021. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)
A KDP supporter attends an election rally of his party at the Erbil citadel in the capital of Kurdistan Region, Oct. 7, 2021. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Sunday welcomed the preliminary results of the Iraqi parliamentary election the federal electoral commission announced a day earlier.

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) reported the preliminary vote results late Saturday and said that turnout was around 43 percent, the lowest in the country's elections since 2003.

The KDP won 33 seats, an eight-seat increase compared to the previous election cycle.

Read More: KDP emerges from elections as the biggest political party in Iraq

"In order to prove the integrity of the elections, all political parties participating in the elections have the right to file complaints about the results within a specified period," the party said in a statement welcoming the results.

The KDP also called on all parties that have objections about the outcome of the Oct. 10 election "to resort to legal and appropriate means" to contest the vote and avoid inflammatory language that "threatens the security of the country."

Some parties, primarily political representatives of Iran-aligned militias, have issued threats of violence in response to their poor showing at the ballot box.

"We also call for restraint and putting the people's interests above all considerations," the KDP said, noting that though there were minor issues in the election, the "process was free and fair overall."

The Kurdish movement concluded its statement by thanking the IHEC, the UN, and other election monitoring missions and the Erbil and Baghdad governments for facilitating a safe environment for the election.