Kurdistan Region Parliamentary elections registration deadline for candidates set

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A deadline for submitting candidates for the Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections was announced by the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on Sunday.

IHEC spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalai told Kurdistan24 that candidates are welcome to participate in the parliamentary elections between March 13 and March 22.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on March 3, set June 10 for parliamentary elections.

Due to political infighting, the Kurdistan Region parties could not agree on amending the election law last year, triggering the extension of the current Kurdistan Parliament term by a year.

The Iraqi Supreme Court in August 2023, issued its verdict on the extension, calling it “unconstitutional.”

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and President Nechirvan Barzani have reiterated their calls for holding the elections on time and without further delay.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has also called on the political parties to hold the polls on time.

On Feb. 21, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq ruled to decrease the Kurdistan Region parliament seats from 111 to 100. Those eleven seats were dedicated to Kurdistan Region minorities.

Read More: Kurdistan Region parliament seats reduced to 100 by the Iraqi federal Supreme Court

Every four years, Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections are held to elect the 111 members. The election was first held in 1992 and the most recent election was held in 2018. 

Dawid Salman, the Director of the IHEC, previously told Kurdistan24 that there are 3.6 million eligible voters in the Kurdistan Region.