The UN Security Council, at its 9,642nd meeting on May 31, 2024, decided to extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and said that UNAMI should provide support to the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections.
UNAMI’s mandate was extended for a final 19-month period until December 31, 2025, with the UN Security Council unanimously adopting Resolution 2732 (2024).
The government of Iraq had previously requested the termination of UNAMI’s mission by the end of 2025 in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The United Nations Security Council, at its 9642nd meeting on 31st May 2024, decided to extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for #Iraq (UNAMI) for a final 19-month period until 31 December 2025, unanimously adopting Resolution 2732 (2024).
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) May 31, 2024
➡️ https://t.co/yB8oTsbViO pic.twitter.com/7mB4DCotSw
Resolution 2732 defines the UNAMI mission as providing advice, support, and technical assistance to the government of Iraq, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), and other Iraqi institutions.
Moreover, UNAMI is expected to provide assistance to “federal Iraq’s parliamentary elections and the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections, through transparent and inclusive processes, including through regular technical reviews and detailed reporting on electoral preparations and processes, as part of the Secretary-General’s regular reporting cycle.”
The resolution also “commends the government of Iraq’s efforts to settle internal issues in Iraq and to make progress towards achieving the milestones set out in the government of Iraq’s programs and priorities, including the holding of Iraqi Council of Representatives and Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections in due course.”
Parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region, originally scheduled for 2022, were postponed due to disagreements among political parties.
In a statement released on March 18, the Kurdistan Democratic Party announced that they would boycott the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections initially scheduled for June 10 after the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq eliminated 11 quota seats for minorities within the region.
In early May, the IHEC said it had suspended preparations for the elections on June 10 due to a pending lawsuit.
On May 21, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq decided to allocate five of the 100 seats in the Kurdistan Region Parliament to religious communities.
Then, on May 29, the IHEC proposed that the Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections be held on September 5, 2024.
So far, no official date has been set.
Read More: Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections Should Take Place Soon: UNAMI Head
“It is hoped that the vote will take place with as minimal a delay as possible, in any case not later than four months from now, and with a minority quota,” the outgoing Head of UNAMI Jeanine Antoinette Hennis-Plasschaert said on May 16.
