ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani on Friday said that Iraq’s electoral law is “unjust”, reiterating his party’s goal to “resolve” the political situation in Iraq.

The KDP held its last campaign rally in Erbil’s Franso Hariri stadium on Friday, ahead of Iraq’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday, which saw President Barzani address a crowd of over 60,000 supporters of the party.

“The current [electoral] law is unjust and does not serve every side," said Barzani, calling on the people to vote for the KDP to safeguard their rights. The KDP's campaign will be to resolve the mistakes and stabilize Iraq's political situation, he said.

Iraq’s electoral law will be held without any amendments to Iraq’s parliamentary election law - the Sainte-Lague system - which favors better-funded, established parties over independent candidates and smaller parties. over 7,750 candidates compete for the 329 seats allocated across the provinces under a proportional representation system. 

The electoral silence period is slated for November 8 at 7 am, and electoral campaigns must be immediately halted afterwards.

Special voting is scheduled to take place a day after the silence period, where special forces and members of security services will cast their votes.

"The KDP knows what it wants and what it does," President Barzani asserted, noting that they “will strive to form the Federation Council that will safeguard both the [Kurdistan] Region's rights and the rights of Iraq.” He also called for the implementation of article 140 of the Iraqi constitution to settle territories disputed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government.

Speaking to the formation of the next KRG cabinet, Barzani stressed that he instructed his party, as the main victors of the Kurdistan Region’s October 2024 elections, to expedite the process, noting that second place Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is complicating the process.

President Barzani’s remarks come against the backdrop of a KDP statement on Thursday, in which the party called out rival PUK of stalling the formation of the next cabinet.

“Although the KDP became the first force by a large margin in terms of seats and votes, on the directive of President Barzani … we showed that degree of flexibility and were ready to agree to far more than the PUK deserved in terms of votes and seats, only to give assurance to the PUK,” read the KDP’s statement.