The Kurdistan Region is in desperate need of inclusive, transparent, and credible elections, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) chief said while briefing the UN Security Council on Thursday.
“Inclusive, transparent, and credible Regional elections, capable of producing political finality and certainty, are desperately needed,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said while briefing the UN Security Council, adding that “the Region’s political landscape has become even more polarized” since she last briefed the council.
“The stakes are high - including, and increasingly, within the context of the legitimacy of KR institutions. In fact, if the current impasse was to drag on, the very future of the Region would hang in the balance,” the UNAMI Chief added.
The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court earlier this month suspended preparations for the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections that were scheduled for June 10.
The decision was in light of an official lawsuit filed by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, against the President of the Board of Commissioners of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq.
The lawsuit is set to be seen by the court on May 19.
“Having said this, after intensive engagement in past weeks, which has been guided by the need for a swift and decisive way out of the deadlock, we are now hopeful that a final, and thus binding, election date will be announced soon,” Plasschaert said.
Earlier this year, the Electoral Commission issued Law No. 7 of 2024 regarding the registration and approval of candidate lists for the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Article 2 of the law divided the Kurdistan Region into four electoral districts and specified the parliament's seat count at 100 only, nullifying the 11 seats allocated for minority quotas.
This move sparked discontent among several political parties, including the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), prompting calls for the decision to be revoked due to its alleged unconstitutionality.
The UNAMI chief’s statement came after earlier on Thursday, Iraq’s Judicial Authority overturned the decision of the Board of Commissioners to suspend the technical and financial procedures for the Kurdistan Regional elections.
Addressing the decision, the former head of the Independent High Electoral Commission told The New Region that the decision is not to affect the ruling of the Federal Court on Barzani’s lawsuit.
“This decision does not affect the nature of the decision expected from the Federal Court regarding the original case submitted by the Prime Minister of the Region,” Sarbast Amedi said, adding that “the decisions of the Judicial Authority are concerned with the electoral process, and all decisions of the Board of Commissioners are subject to appeal before the Judicial Authority, and its decisions are final and binding.”
However, as the Kurdistan Region expects a new date for the parliamentary elections, it is facing yet another obstacle according to the former deputy head of the IHEC.
“We face another problem: the impending end of the term of the members of the Electoral Commission in the upcoming month of July,” Saad al-Rawi told The New Region.
“Therefore, during this remaining period (until July), the commission will not be able to conduct elections unless the term is extended or replaced with new commissioners or council members,” he said, adding that “next Saturday, there is an amendment proposed to the parliament to extend the term of the Electoral Commission for another period so that it can conduct the regional parliament elections on time.”
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