Kurdistan Region to hold its parliamentary elections in November 2023

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s sixth parliamentary elections are set to be held in November this year, according to the KRI Presidency. 

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday issued a presidential decree, setting the parliamentary elections for November 18th, 2023, Dilshad Shahab, the presidency’s spokesperson, said in a press conference in Erbil.

The decision comes after the elections that were supposed to be held last October were delayed due to political wrangling over amending the electoral law and activating the election high commission.

The electoral law has yet to be amended, and some parties are calling for a multi-constituency model and distribution of the quota seats, belonging to the religious and ethnic minorities, over the provinces.

The presidency issued the decree following consultation with the majority of the political parties in the Kurdistan Region, Shahab said.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Region’s two leading parties, have recently agreed to facilitate holding the elections this year.

The United Nations and Western countries have also stressed the importance of holding elections at some point this year.

The Kurdistan Regional Government, responsible for allocating the budget for the elections, has expressed its readiness to provide any necessities for the elections to move forward.