ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Region’s two ruling parties on Wednesday shared opposing views regarding the Region’s parliamentary elections which is scheduled for June 10 after multiple delays and still faces setbacks due to political and legal disputes.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) politburo met on Wednesday in the light of reports that the Region’s elections were going to be delayed to at least September. 
Following the meeting, the PUK in a statement opposed all attempts at delaying the elections.

“We condemn any unilateral attempt and allegations of a political parties agreement to postpone the scheduled parliamentary elections in Kurdistan,” the party said.
The statement added that “any further delay of the elections will cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of the government” and their party will resort to legal measures in accordance to the Iraqi law and constitution.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc in the Iraqi Parliament soon responded by releasing a statement.

“For the past two years, the Kurdistan Democratic Party has been advocating for elections. However, some parties, particularly those issuing statements now, know which party hindered the elections,” the statement read.

Furthermore, the party called for clean and transparent elections in which all components participate, urging the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the international community, and international observers to monitor the process more effectively and extensively. 

In a Wednesday conversation with The New Region, Jumana al-Ghalayi, spokesperson for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), stated that preparations for conducting the elections as scheduled are underway. 

However, a source from the Iraqi government informed The New Region that the elections are currently projected to take place between September and October of this year, and a directive from Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has put a stop to the IHEC’s preparations.

The KDP, who for years has ruled the Region, in March announced that they would withhold from participating in the elections, defining it as “pre-designed”.
“Our decision is that we are not participating in a pre-designed election by an unconstitutional body which is called the federal court in Iraq,” KDP politburo member Hemn Hawrami told The New Region in an interview.

The KDP’s decision came in light of a February Federal Supreme Court ruling that removed 11 minority quota seats from the Kurdish legislature and further ruled that the Region’s elections be held over four constituencies as opposed to one.

The court’s ruling came as a result of a lawsuit by the PUK and another Christian party in Sulaimani filed against several articles from the Kurdistan Region’s electoral law.
The PUK had previously claimed that the Kurdistan Region’s ruling KDP uses those quota seats for their benefit, increasing their dominance in the parliament. The KDP has on several occasions denied such claims.

The Kurdistan Region was initially scheduled to hold elections in October 2022, but they were later pushed to November 2023 due to disagreements between the Region’s political parties over the electoral law.

Following a verdict by the court in May 2023 against the Regional parliament’s self-extension of its tenure by one year, the election dates were once again delayed, this time to February 2024, however delay in the court’s rulings in February led to an extra delay of the election date, this time to June 10.