'Kurdistan Region’s minorities support one election constituency system’: Minister
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Aydin Marouf, Kurdistan Region’s Minister for Minorities Affairs, affirmed that the minorities support holding Kurdistan parliamentary elections with one election constituency.
“Minorities’ participation in the elections serves the democratic process of the Kurdistan Region, Marouf told Kurdistan 24 on Monday. “Minority rights must be taken into account.”
Marouf pointed out that “there is a special status in the Kurdistan Region,” affirming “the minorities support holding the upcoming parliamentary elections with one election constituency system.”
Dilshad Shahab, senior advisor to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, told Kurdistan 24 on Monday that “all political parties agreed on amending the elections law.”
“The details of the elections law to be discussed and agreed upon in the parliament,” Shahab added.
Earlier in the month, in his meeting with Hennis-Plasschaert, Kurdistan Region President Barzani emphasized that "the obstacles ahead of the elections must be removed and the elections must be held as soon as possible, for which the KDP is ready to hold elections even tomorrow.”
In February, President Nechirvan Barzani signed a decree to determine the general elections date and decided to hold elections on October 1, 2022. However, the political parties disagree on the electoral law and changes in the Kurdistan Election Commission.
With the attendance of President Nechirvan Barzani and Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the leaders of the Kurdish major political parties met on August 10 to discuss their political disagreements and the possibility of reactivating the Kurdistan Region's Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission (IHERC) so that the elections could be held on time.