UNAMI head invites Kurdish parties for 'joint closed meeting'

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), tweeted on Monday evening that UNAMI has invited representatives of Kurdish political parties for "a joint closed meeting".

"UNAMI invited representatives of political parties in the Kurdistan Region (KR) for a joint closed meeting on Thursday 26 May," she tweeted. 

"With the KR (Kurdistan Region) elections scheduled for 1 October 2022, this meeting provides a welcome and timely opportunity for a direct exchange of views."

UNAMI invited representatives of political parties in the Kurdistan Region (KR) for a joint closed meeting on Thursday 26 May. With the KR elections scheduled for 1 October 2022, this meeting provides a welcome and timely opportunity for a direct exchange of views.

— Jeanine Hennis (@JeanineHennis) May 23, 2022

The tweet follows meetings between Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and leading officials from several Kurdish parties, including the President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Bafel Talabani, on Sunday. 

"It was affirmed that resolving the differences among political parties and their unity, especially between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will have positive impact on developments in the Kurdistan Region and strengthens Kurdistan's standing in Baghdad," read the Kurdistan Region's Presidency statement on those meetings.

During a May 17 briefing to the United Nations Security Council members on Iraq, Hennis-Plasschaert also underlined the importance of Kurdish parties working together.

"With the Kurdistan Region elections scheduled for the 1st of October later this year, it is of utmost importance to level the electoral playing field - with all political actors, big or small, enjoying equal opportunities," she said. 

"Promoting a conducive electoral environment, that is."

On May 15, outgoing US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew H. Tueller also said that Washington hopes the Kurdistan Region's parliamentary elections, scheduled for Oct. 1, are held "with a full respect for the process of holding an election that it's transparent and held in accordance with the law and the constitution."