US congratulates Kurdistan Region on 30th anniversary of first Kurdish election

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United States congratulated the people of the Kurdistan Region on the 30th anniversary of the first elections in the region on May 19, 1992, on Thursday. 

“Over these past 30 years, the IKR (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) has been a positive example of tolerance and peaceful coexistence throughout the region,” the US Consulate General Erbil wrote in a Facebook post.

“We are proud of our important partnership with the people and government of the IKR and our cooperation on political and economic reforms that advance democracy, human rights, economic development, and the rule of law,” it added. 

“The United States looks forward to continued cooperation that will strengthen the security, prosperity, and resilience of the region anchored within a federal Iraq.”

The elections were held a year after a no-fly zone was implemented by the US, UK, and France following the 1991 Persian Gulf War to protect the people of the Kurdistan Region from Saddam Hussein’s air force and helicopter gunships. 

As a result, the Kurds were able to hold their first parliamentary election in 1992, which led to the formation of the first Kurdistan Parliament and the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Safeen Dizayee, head of the KRG’s Foreign Relations Department, also marked the occasion, tweeting said that thirty years ago, the people of Kurdistan, for the “first time in our history voted in a free and fair election which established our Kurdistan Parliament and Kurdistan.”

“It was only possible through decades of sacrifices and struggle for freedom by our people and Peshmerga.”

Thirty years ago, the people of Kurdistan for the 1st time in our history voted in a free and fair election which established our @KurdistanParl and @Kurdistan #KRG. It was only possible through decades of sacrifices and struggle for freedom by our people and Peshmerga. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/yqqvDnoOX4

— Safeen Dizayee (@SafeenDizayee) May 19, 2022

There have been five elections in the Kurdistan Region in 1992, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2018. The Kurdistan Region’s next parliamentary election is scheduled for Oct. 1, 2022.