Kurdistan
From left: UNAMI Head Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and KRG PM Masrour Barzani meeting in Erbil on April 2, 2024. Photo: KRG
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday invited observers from around the world to monitor Kurdistan Region's upcoming elections in order to secure a "transparent" process.
Barzani received the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Head Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in Erbil on Tuesday.
He said in a post on X that he made it clear to the senior UN envoy that his cabinet fully supports "free, fair and credible elections removed from constitutional violations and interference."
"[I]invite international electoral monitors/observers to secure a fair, credible and transparent process," he added.
The Kurdistan Region will hold parliamentary elections on June 10, two years after the original date they were scheduled for. The elections were postponed several times due to disputes between political parties and legal causes.
US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday said that Washington encourages the holding of "free, fair and credible elections."
Midnight on Sunday was the deadline for political parties to submit their candidates lists to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) which is overseeing the process.
Most political parties submitted their candidate lists, excluding the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which earlier this month announced it was boycotting the vote in protest over a federal court ruling that eliminated minority quota seats and imposed a four-constituency system.
The party’s politburo said that the court ruling came as a continuation of the latter’s “unconstitutional rulings against the Kurdistan Region in the past four years” and called it an attempt to “return Iraq to a centralized system.”
Prime Minister Barzani is the second deputy to the KDP Leader Masoud Barzani.
"We also agreed to tackle the roadblocks in ways that protect the democratic process and stability of the Kurdistan Region," the Kurdish premier noted on Tuesday.
The KDP is the largest Kurdish party and the dominant force in both Erbil and Duhok provinces. Its withdrawal from the election has led many pundits to speculate that the vote may not be held as scheduled in June.
International allies and observers have warned against postponing the elections. On Saturday, United States Ambassador Alina Romanowski met with KDP leader Masoud Barzani and top KRG officials to discuss the vote.
Barzani received the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Head Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in Erbil on Tuesday.
He said in a post on X that he made it clear to the senior UN envoy that his cabinet fully supports "free, fair and credible elections removed from constitutional violations and interference."
"[I]invite international electoral monitors/observers to secure a fair, credible and transparent process," he added.
The Kurdistan Region will hold parliamentary elections on June 10, two years after the original date they were scheduled for. The elections were postponed several times due to disputes between political parties and legal causes.
US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday said that Washington encourages the holding of "free, fair and credible elections."
Midnight on Sunday was the deadline for political parties to submit their candidates lists to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) which is overseeing the process.
Most political parties submitted their candidate lists, excluding the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which earlier this month announced it was boycotting the vote in protest over a federal court ruling that eliminated minority quota seats and imposed a four-constituency system.
The party’s politburo said that the court ruling came as a continuation of the latter’s “unconstitutional rulings against the Kurdistan Region in the past four years” and called it an attempt to “return Iraq to a centralized system.”
Prime Minister Barzani is the second deputy to the KDP Leader Masoud Barzani.
"We also agreed to tackle the roadblocks in ways that protect the democratic process and stability of the Kurdistan Region," the Kurdish premier noted on Tuesday.
The KDP is the largest Kurdish party and the dominant force in both Erbil and Duhok provinces. Its withdrawal from the election has led many pundits to speculate that the vote may not be held as scheduled in June.
International allies and observers have warned against postponing the elections. On Saturday, United States Ambassador Alina Romanowski met with KDP leader Masoud Barzani and top KRG officials to discuss the vote.
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