Iraq’s electoral commission extends the registration period for political parties and individual candidates participating in the Kurdistan Region’s elections by an extra three days after it was meant to close registration on Monday.
 
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) was meant to close the registration for the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections on Monday.
 
However head of the commission’s media team Imad Jamil told The New Region that the period was extended for another three days. The IHEC is now set to close registration on June 27.
 
This is the second time the IHEC extends the deadline of registration, first from June 13 to 24, and now until June 27.
 
As of Monday, 12 political parties, two coalitions, and 77 independent candidates have registered to run in the Region’s parliamentary elections.
 
However, the date of the elections is yet to be decided.

A source from the Kurdistan Regional Presidency on Sunday told The New Region that President Nechirvan Barzani will be announcing a new date for the elections by the end of the week.
 
The elections, originally scheduled for June 10, 2024, were canceled after the Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced its withdrawal. They demanded changes to the allocation of quota seats and constituency seats. 
 
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.
 
The party eventually registered to participate after some of their demands were met, including the return of five quota seats.
 
The return of the five seats came in response to a complaint from a Christian party in the Kurdistan Region.