Kurdistan Region committed to holding elections on time, President Barzani tells UK ambassador 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on Tuesday that the autonomous region is committed to holding parliamentary elections planned for September on time. 

Barzani made the remark during his meeting with the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Iraq, Mark Bryson-Richardson, on Tuesday in Erbil. 

The two officials also discussed the latest political developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, according to a press release from the Kurdish presidency. 

The Kurdistan Region’s political parties are currently negotiating to hold a parliamentary election in September. 

President Barzani reiterated that the “Kurdistan Region is committed to holding the elections on time.”

Kurdish political parties are also discussing drafting the autonomous region’s constitution. 

“The [would-be] constitution needs to be based on unity and consensus,” Barzani told the British diplomat, adding the Kurdistan Region would coordinate with Baghdad on this project. 

Regarding the Iraqi government formation process, Barzani stressed that peace and stability are crucial factors for implementing an agenda that favors all the country’s components. 

The officials also discussed relations between the UK, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region and expressed their mutual willingness to strengthen them. 

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani also received the UK ambassador in his office in Erbil on Tuesday. They discussed the reform program for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and political developments in Iraq during that meeting, according to a statement from the KDP leader’s office. 

The UK delegation “appreciated” the continuing reform process of the Peshmerga, the statement added. 

The British diplomats also considered “the coordination and cooperation between Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi forces as a positive step for the stability of the disputed territories,” the statement added.