Kurdistan Region officially requests Iraq’s electoral body to supervise Kurdish elections

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Presidency has officially requested the Iraqi electoral body to supervise the semiautonomous region’s elections later this year, according to a statement.

In a letter sent to the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on Monday, the Presidency officially made the request for the Iraqi supervision of the Kurdish parliamentary elections on either Nov. 18 or together with the planned Iraqi provincial councils election set for Dec. 18 this year, a statement from the Kurdish Presidency wrote.

A copy of the letter has been shared with the relevant parties in Kurdistan Region, the Presidency wrote.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in mid-June met with the IHEC president in the presence of the United Nations envoy to Iraq in Erbil, where they discussed the preparations for the 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.

Iraqi Supreme Court last month issued its own verdict on the extension, calling it “unconstitutional.”

Kurdish political parties have called for holding the polls as soon as possible.

Kurdistan Democratic Party President Masoud Barzani has recently called for holding the elections without any impediment.