The Presidency of the Kurdistan Region has set October 20 for holding the Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections, and the Iraqi commission is gearing up to oversee the elections on that date. 

#BREAKING: Kurdistan Region Presidency sets October 20 as the date of #Kurdistan Region's parliamentary elections#TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/3IfCLYhZiq

— The New Region (@thenewregion) June 26, 2024

At the beginning of this month, the Iraqi Election Commission was officially notified by the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region that they can oversee the sixth parliamentary elections after September 5, 2024. 

"The date set by the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region is appropriate, the commission's preparations are ongoing, and we are ready to oversee the sixth parliamentary elections," the head of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission's media team Imad Jamil told The New Region on Wednesday.

EU Ambassador Thomas Seiler welcomed the Kurdistan Region’s announcement to hold elections on October 20, in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday.

"I welcome the announcement by the KRG Presidency to hold the election on 20 October, we have worked closely with both regional and federal governments, all Kurdish political actors and the UN to make this happen. Political decisions in KRI will again have full democratic legitimacy,” Seiler said.

I welcome the announcement by KRG Presidency to hold the election on 20 October, we have worked closely with both regional and federal governments, all Kurdish political actors and the UN to make this happen. Political decisions in KRI will again have full democratic legitimacy.

— 🇪🇺 🇮🇶 Thomas Seiler (@EUAmbIraq) June 26, 2024

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani also welcomed the move, expressing the Iraqi government’s support for an election that includes members of all components.

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq has extended the registration period for political parties and individual candidates participating in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections by an additional three days. 

Initially set to close on June 24, the registration deadline has now been moved to June 27.

This marked the second extension, following a previous extension from June 13 to June 24.

As of Monday, 12 political parties, two coalitions, and 77 independent candidates had registered to compete in the elections.

The IHEC had earlier issued Law No. 7 of 2024, which divided the Kurdistan Region into four electoral districts and reduced the parliament's seat count to 100, eliminating 11 seats previously allocated for minority quotas. 

Following negotiations, five of these quota seats were reinstated in response to a complaint from a Christian party at the Federal Supreme Court, leading to the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party’s re-entry into the electoral process, after its initial boycott decision.