KDP taking legal measures after losing two seats in final election results

The PUK had appealed the initial results and, under these results announced on Tuesday, now has 19 seats instead of 17.

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/12/02 15:26

KDP supporters wave their party's flag at an election rally near Erbil's citadel, Oct. 7, 2021. (Photo: Safin Hamid/AFP)

Iraq Iraqi 2021 elections October 10 Results KDP PUK IHEC Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is taking legal measures after losing two of its seats in the final elections results announced by Iraq’s electoral authorities.

According to the preliminary results released by Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), the KDP won 33 seats, the most votes for any political party not in a coalition.

On Tuesday, however, the IHEC announced the final results. According to these final results, the KDP won 31 seats, with the two it previously held going to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The PUK had appealed the initial results and, under these results announced on Tuesday, now has 19 seats instead of 17.

“A political decision and the interference of the Iraqi President and the head of Supreme Judicial Council illegally extended the appeal duration in order to change the results in favor of some entities,” read a KDP statement released on Thursday after the party’s leadership met to discuss the results.

The KDP has dispatched a legal and technical team to the IHEC and submitted all the documents that “proved the violations”.

The KDP, the statement added, will continue defending “its rights through legal means and remove the violations.”

Shiite political factions are presently in talks to form the next Iraqi government.