KDP reaffirms support for holding Kurdistan Parliament elections on time
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc of the Kurdistan Parliament reaffirmed on Tuesday its support for holding parliamentary elections in the autonomous region on time.
“The KDP supports holding the election on time and it doesn’t have a veto on any election-related proposals submitted by other political parties,” the KDP parliamentary bloc told a press conference. “If the Speaker of Parliament continues to hinder holding a parliament session, the KDP will use its majority in the parliament.”
The KDP bloc urged Speaker of Parliament Rewaz Fayiq, from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), to call for holding a parliament session soon and stop hindering the work of parliament. It also accused the PUK of seeking to delay the elections.
“Leaning toward supporting PUK in the parliament by the Parliament Speaker is a clear violation of parliament’s bylaw, and she will be held responsible for it,” the KDP bloc warned. “Under the pretext of having an election-related proposal, the PUK wants to delay the elections.”
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The KDP parliament bloc revealed that 39 members of parliament from the PUK, Movement for Change (Gorran), New Generation Movement (NGM), Kurdistan Justice Group (KJG), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) submitted a proposal on Mar. 28 that calls for amending the elections law and reactivating the Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission (IHERC).
However, the KDP bloc says that the PUK is not serious about putting its proposal on the parliament’s agenda for discussion and approval.
“The PUK’s purpose behind this proposal is to delay the elections, and the parliament speaker is violating parliament bylaws for serving that purpose,” the KDP bloc told the press conference. “We call on the parliament speaker to put the political parties’ proposal on the agenda of the parliament session as soon as possible to discuss them and not waste any additional time.”
Read More: Postponing elections would be ‘shameful for Kurdistan Region’: Hemin Hawrami
The KDP bloc pointed out that they visited the PUK politburo on Jan. 6 to clarify their position on the elections but never got a response.
“We do not accept any party imposing its will on the people of Kurdistan and the KDP,” the KDP bloc warned. “The people of Kurdistan need to be aware of who wants to hold elections on time and who wants to delay them.”
“We don’t accept the people of Kurdistan being deprived of their right to have elections on time.”
The current parliamentary term ends on Nov. 6, 2022, and elections must be held before then. The Kurdistan Region President issued a presidential decree announcing Oct. 1, 2022, as the date for holding the next parliamentary elections.
The IHERC mandate expired on Dec. 20, 2019. To renew its mandate, Kurdish lawmakers need to pass a new law.