ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has ruled out holding talks with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) about delaying a long-overdue parliamentary election, a politburo member of the party said on Saturday.
“Not only the KDP, we will not have a meeting on this topic with any political party that demands delaying the election,” Stran Abdullah, a politburo member of the PUK, told Rudaw.
“It is a key principle of the PUK to not talk about an election that has been decided,” he added.
Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections were due to be held in October 2022, but disputes between the political parties and legal issues have caused several delays. A date was set for June 10, but the Iraqi High Electoral Commission has suspended preparations for the vote pending a ruling on a lawsuit filed by Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani that challenges the division of seats.
The KDP had decided it would boycott the election in protest over new rules imposed by the federal court, including the abolishment of quota seats allocated for Christians, Turkmens, and Armenians, and the division of the Region into several constituencies.
Holding elections in Erbil and Duhok provinces, which are controlled by the KDP, is almost impossible without the party’s participation, pundits say.
The majority of the Kurdistan Region’s political parties, including the PUK, which shares power with the KDP in government, have insisted that the polls should be held as scheduled.
“You will never hear that the PUK wants to delay the election,” Abdullah said.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani has visited Baghdad several times in recent months, pushing for the restoration of quota seats. Minorities groups have commended Barzani for his efforts.
Peshawa Bakhtiyar contributed to this report
