ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The official campaigning for the Kurdistan Region’s October 20 parliamentary elections will kick off from Wednesday, announced the Iraqi electoral body. 

 

“Tonight at 12:00am, campaigning for the Kurdistan parliament elections will begin and it will come to an end on October 15,” Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced on Tuesday.

 

According to the IHEC decision, the campaign will last 20 days and conclude five days before voters head to the polls. 

 

The Kurdistan Region is set to hold parliamentary elections on October 20 after several delays.

 

A total of 136 lists with 1,191 candidates will vie for 100 seats at the Kurdish legislature.

 

“We are calling on the Kurdistan Regional Government and all ministries to assist the electoral commission to help succeed all the efforts towards a free and fair election,” Omar Ahmed, head of the IHEC said. 

 

“I reiterate once again, we will execute our duties in a professional and neutral way in order to hold a free and fair election,” he added. 

 

The elections were initially set for October 2022 but have been delayed several times since. They were most recently scheduled for June 10, 2024, before being postponed after the Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced its withdrawal, demanding changes to the allocation of minority quota seats and constituency seats. The party eventually registered to participate after some of its demands were met.
  
The Kurdistan Region has been divided into four electoral constituencies with 100 seats at the legislature, with five seats allocated for the minorities.