On June 26, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani announced that the upcoming general election for the sixth term of the Kurdistan Region Parliament will take place on October 20, 2024.
President Nechirvan Barzani @IKRPresident has decided that the upcoming general election for the sixth term of the #Kurdistan Parliament will take place on 20th October 2024. pic.twitter.com/kne28Fvtaj
— KDP ForeignRelations (@kdpfro) June 26, 2024
The elections have been delayed several times since October 2022 due to disputes between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
Previously, the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections were scheduled for June 10.
However, on March 18, the KDP announced that they would boycott the elections due to a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq that eliminated quota seats for Christians and other components within the region.
The Federal Supreme Court on May 7 suspended the procedures to hold the elections due to a related lawsuit.
However, on May 21, the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq allocated five parliamentary quota seats for religious components in the Kurdistan Region, and on June 2, the KDP confirmed they would participate in the elections.
Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid on June 26 met with a delegation of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) led by IHEC Deputy Chairman Omar Ahmad Mohammed, and discussed the procedures for holding the Kurdish parliamentary elections.
The announcement of the new election date was welcomed by several countries.
#Canada welcomes the announcement of parliamentary elections in the KRI on 20 October, and supports the #KRI’s democracy and stability.
— Canada in Erbil (@CanadainErbil) June 26, 2024
For instance, Canada welcomed the announcement and said it supports the Kurdistan Region’s stability and democratic processes in a post on X.
Moreover, EU Ambassador to Iraq Thomas Seiler welcomed the elections.
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
“We have worked closely with both regional and federal governments, all Kurdish political actors and the UN to make this happen. Political decisions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq will again have full democratic legitimacy,” he said in a post on X.
Additionally, one day before the announcement, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Claudio Cordone said that he was looking forward to the announcement of the election date in the coming days.
“Time for the Region’s institutions to regain their full legitimacy through the ballot box,” he said on June 25.
France’s Consulate General in Erbil also welcomed the announcement. In a post on X, the Consulate General underlined that “France fully supports the holding of free and fair elections in Kurdistan.”
The UNAMI mission heralded the announcement by President Barzani “as a new and final election date for the elections of the Kurdistan Region Parliament.
Mohammed Salih, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Kurdistan Chronicle that the elections were long overdue after multiple delays.
“The elections have a direct bearing on the legitimacy of Kurdistan’s institutions and political entities. There will likely be significant changes in Kurdistan’s political landscape this time around as a result of the current circumstances and the array of political groups participating in the elections.”
“The issue of minority representation needs to be fairly resolved in the future in a way that ensures meaningful representation of non-Kurdish communities in Kurdistan.
“It’s important that all sides, including Kurdistan’s international friends, ensure the elections are held in a free and fair atmosphere,” he concluded.
In a statement on the new election date former Kurdistan Region President and KDP leader Masoud Barzani underlined that he supports "the holding of free and fair elections."
"We call on the political parties to take into account the situation in the Kurdistan Region and cooperate responsibly to make a democratic process a success and maintain stability and coexistence."
