Barzani’s KDP calls for resumption of parliament sessions in Iraq Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) yesterday called for the resumption of the sessions of the suspended Kurdish parliament so as to enable the holding of legislative elections in the Kurdistan Region this year.

The KDP holds its rival party, the National Union, responsible for the failure to carry on with the Kurdish-Kurdish dialogues.

In October 2022, the region’s parliament approved the extension of its current legislative term, which stirred up political protests that led to the withdrawal of parliamentary blocs and the obstruction of holding sessions.

As a result, the Kurdish parliament decided to postpone the region’s elections for one year so that they would be held in 2023 along with the provincial council elections.

Bilind Ismail, a KDP leader in Erbil, told journalists: “We want to reconvene the sessions of the Kurdistan Parliament to work on amending the election law and activating the work of the independent High Electoral Commission in the region in preparation for the elections.”

The Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Massoud Barzani, seeks to hold elections in the Kurdistan Region at the end of 2023, as party leaders have stated on more than one occasion. But a number of obstacles stand in the way of holding elections; these include calls for amending the election law and political parties’ opposition to the work of the High Electoral Commission.

Ismail said that his party held a meeting with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan last month, adding that the latter is not yet ready to hold a second meeting, which would be aimed at reaching an agreement on holding elections.

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