ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Foreign missions in Iraq on Monday expressed concern about the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) decision to boycott the Kurdistan Region’s general elections, reiterating the importance of holding the “essential” vote on time.
The KDP announced earlier in the day that it would not take part in the Region’s polls on June 10, labelling the elections “illegal” and “unconstitutional” following the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court’s ruling to eliminate minority quota seats.
“We are concerned by KDP’s announcement to boycott the Iraqi Kurdistan Region elections. We urge the Government of Iraq & the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that elections are free, fair, transparent, & credible,” United States Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski stated in a post on X.
“All the people of Iraqi Kurdistan Region should have a voice in determining their future,” she stressed.
Earlier on Monday, the US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told Rudaw that Washington was concerned about the KDP’s decision and reiterated his country’s “consistent” position in support of conducting “free, fair, transparent, and credible elections.”
The KDP "will not partake in an illegal and unconstitutional election under an imposed system,” read a Monday statement from the party’s political bureau.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) stated on X that it has “taken note” of the KDP’s decision as it did with the Federal Court’s decision last month, calling on all parties to “ work in the interest of the people, and thus towards solutions, rather than another prolonged impasse. The holding of the 10 June KRI elections is essential.”
Earlier this month, the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani set June 10 as the date to hold the long overdue vote.
The Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections were initially scheduled for October 2022 but were then pushed to November of the following year due to disagreements among political parties over the election law. The vote was supposed to be held by a Kurdish electoral body.
After the Iraqi federal court ruled against the self-extension of the Kurdistan parliament as a result of the delayed elections, the vote was postponed to February 25 of this year, this time under the supervision of IHEC.
Despite the KDP’s boycott, the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) still plans to go ahead with the vote on June 10, according to Imad Jamil, the head of the electoral body’s media team.
“The commission’s preparations continue as planned for holding the [Kurdistan] Region’s parliamentary elections,” Jamil told Rudaw on Monday, adding that they have not officially been asked to postpone the vote.
The KDP announced earlier in the day that it would not take part in the Region’s polls on June 10, labelling the elections “illegal” and “unconstitutional” following the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court’s ruling to eliminate minority quota seats.
“We are concerned by KDP’s announcement to boycott the Iraqi Kurdistan Region elections. We urge the Government of Iraq & the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that elections are free, fair, transparent, & credible,” United States Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski stated in a post on X.
“All the people of Iraqi Kurdistan Region should have a voice in determining their future,” she stressed.
Earlier on Monday, the US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told Rudaw that Washington was concerned about the KDP’s decision and reiterated his country’s “consistent” position in support of conducting “free, fair, transparent, and credible elections.”
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court last month ruled that the 11 quota seats in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament reserved for ethnic and religious minorities were unconstitutional, effectively eliminating the seats.We are concerned by KDP’s announcement to boycott the Iraqi Kurdistan Region elections. We urge the Government of Iraq & the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that elections are free, fair, transparent, & credible. All the people of Iraqi Kurdistan Region should have a…
— Ambassador Alina L. Romanowski (@USAmbIraq) March 18, 2024
The KDP "will not partake in an illegal and unconstitutional election under an imposed system,” read a Monday statement from the party’s political bureau.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) stated on X that it has “taken note” of the KDP’s decision as it did with the Federal Court’s decision last month, calling on all parties to “ work in the interest of the people, and thus towards solutions, rather than another prolonged impasse. The holding of the 10 June KRI elections is essential.”
Earlier this month, the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani set June 10 as the date to hold the long overdue vote.
The Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections were initially scheduled for October 2022 but were then pushed to November of the following year due to disagreements among political parties over the election law. The vote was supposed to be held by a Kurdish electoral body.
After the Iraqi federal court ruled against the self-extension of the Kurdistan parliament as a result of the delayed elections, the vote was postponed to February 25 of this year, this time under the supervision of IHEC.
Despite the KDP’s boycott, the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) still plans to go ahead with the vote on June 10, according to Imad Jamil, the head of the electoral body’s media team.
“The commission’s preparations continue as planned for holding the [Kurdistan] Region’s parliamentary elections,” Jamil told Rudaw on Monday, adding that they have not officially been asked to postpone the vote.
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