UN envoy meets Kurdistan Parliament Speaker

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The head of United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met with Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Rewaz Faeq in Erbil.

The two officials discussed the latest political developments in Iraq and Kurdistan Region, including the Kurdish region’s parliamentary elections.

Due to political disagreements and other technical issues, the current parliamentary term has been extended until October 2023 by the majority of the Kurdish lawmakers recently.

The parties need to set a date for the parliamentary elections before the end of the extended term, the Kurdish speaker told the UN envoy.

Iraq’s instability and conflicts between political factions to form the Iraqi government were a few reasons behind the postponement of parliamentary election, Faeq explained, adding updating voters’ registrations, the amendment of electoral law and the reactivation of Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) similarly posed challenges to the process.

Hennis-Plasschaert expressed her willingness to create strong ties between contending Kurdish political parties.