US welcomes Kurdish decision to hold elections this year

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s two leading political parties—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to hold parliamentary elections this year.

The elections were supposed to be held in 2022, but they were postponed. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as well as other Kurdish leaders, have repeatedly called for holding the elections this year, and now, it seems that will happen.

Read More: KDP, PUK reach an agreement to hold elections this year

Following Tuesday’s announcement, Kurdistan 24 asked the US State Department for comment on this development.

“Elections are the hallmark of democracies,” a State Department Spokesperson told Kurdistan 24. “We welcome efforts by the parties to reach an agreement on holding Iraqi Kurdistan Parliamentary elections.”

No date has yet been set for the vote and other details remain to be worked out, but the Prime Minister has expressed his government’s readiness to assist in preparing whatever is required, so that the vote can be held in a timely fashion.

Support for Elections as Principle of US Diplomacy

As the State Department Spokesperson indicated, holding elections on a regular basis is an important principle of governance for the US.

Most recently, Washington has helped to promote an orderly election process in Libya. Last Thursday, the State Department hosted a meeting among the Special Representative for Libya of the UN Secretary General, Abdoulaye Bathily, along with senior officials from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates “to discuss the Libyan people’s demand for presidential and parliamentary elections,” the State Department’s Office of the Spokesperson explained in a press statement issued last week.

“Ahead of his briefing to the UN Security Council,” the statement continued, “Bathily updated participants on his consultations with Libyan leaders and institutions in order to promote consensus leading to elections in 2023.”

Also, in remarks to the visiting officials,” the statement concluded, “Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman underscored U.S. agreement with SRSG Bathily that we should help make 2023 the year of free and fair Libyan elections.”

And now the plan is that something similar will happen in the Kurdistan Region this year, as well.