ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A total of 139 lists and individuals have registered with the Iraqi electoral body to compete in the Kurdistan Region’s October 20 parliamentary election, pending approval from the interior ministry, officials told Rudaw on Saturday.
Thirteen parties and two coalitions have registered, said Jumana al-Ghalai, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commision (IHEC).
A total of 39 people from the Christian and Turkmen communities have registered to vie for five minority quota seats in the legislature. There are 19 Christian candidates, seven in both Erbil and Duhok and four in Sulaimani. And there are 20 Turkmen candidates, 14 in Erbil and six in Sulaimani.
Another 85 candidates are running as independents.
“The next step is to scrutinize the candidates' names and then send the names to the Ministry of Interior and the Integrity Commission for approval,” Marwan Mohammed, the head of IHEC’s office in Erbil, told Rudaw.
More than 3.7 million people are eligible to vote.
The election, which is happening two years late, has been marred with difficulties, including tensions between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and its rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), fueled by interference from Baghdad.
The election was also delayed following a February ruling from the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court that eliminated 11 minority quota seats in the legislature and drew the ire of the KDP, which announced it would not participate in the vote. The minority quota seats were later restored and the KDP decided to take part.
Sirwan Abbas contributed to this report
