The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) Spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalai told Rudaw on Thursday that the body cannot hold the Kurdistan Region’s long overdue parliamentary polls on time, citing a recent decision by Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council which allocated five seats for minorities who used to have 11 in past elections.
The ruling “will impact the plans of the commission to hold the elections on June 10, 2024. Therefore, the commission cannot hold the elections on this date,” she said.
Kurdistan Region’s general elections, initially scheduled for October 2022, have been postponed several times due to disagreements among political parties over the election law and the dissolution of the Kurdish legislature by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court.
The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday voted to extend the term of the electoral commission for another six months, nearly two months before the end of its current term.
Ghalai also told Rudaw that the federal judicial commission will officially request the Kurdistan Region Presidency to appoint a new date for the elections.
The Kurdistan Region Presidency Spokesperson Dilshad Shahab told reporters on Thursday that they are awaiting the federal electoral commission to meet in the coming days to revise the current date.
He added that once the commission officially informs them that it cannot hold the process on time, a new date will be appointed for the polls.
