Preparations for the forthcoming parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) have been suspended, as announced by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq.
This decision followed a ruling from the Iraqi Federal High Court concerning a legal challenge from Iraqi Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The court addressed disputes over election law and electoral district configurations, leading to the suspension of all technical and financial procedures for the elections planned for 10 June of this year.
Cumana Gelayi, spokesman for the IHEC, confirmed that operations would be halted until the KDP’s complaint was resolved. This creates uncertainty around the election date, with no clear indication of when electoral activities might resume. Last month, the KDP expressed its intention to boycott the elections, citing frustration with the interference of the Federal Supreme Court, perceived to favour their rivals, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Their grievances were particularly inflamed by a 21 February decision that abolished eleven reserved minority seats and split the region into four constituencies, distributing the seats as follows: Thirty-eight to Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî), 34 to Erbil (Hewler), 25 to Duhok (Duhoq) and three to Halabja (Helebce).
The day after the court’s decision, the KDP’s Political Bureau, chaired by Masoud Barzani, vehemently declared the ruling unconstitutional, claiming that it undermined the Kurdish region’s constitutional rights and federal principles. This led President Nechirvan Barzani to set the election date, albeit without the full backing of the KDP’s headquarters according to Peregraf, revealing internal discord within the party.
On 18 March, more than two weeks after this declaration, the KDP announced a decision to boycott the elections—a decision that was never formalised. But the party did not lodge candidates by the deadline, hinting at another strategy to force postponement of the election by creating the anticipation of unfavourable outcomes.
On 17 April, Masoud Barzani met with the European Union Ambassador to Iraq, Thomas Siller, where he advocated for postponement of the elections due to concerns over its fairness. Shortly after, Nechirvan Barzani echoed these sentiments at the annual Sulaimani Forum, an international policy event bassed in Sulaymaniyah, stressing the need for unity among Kurdish parties to ensure a transparent electoral process.
The KDP’s stance is perceived not as a principled boycott but as a disruptive move to delay the elections.
Meanwhile, the PUK has criticised these delays, which have already pushed the elections forward so they are now overdue by over a year and a half, and has affirmed its commitment to progressing the democratic process. This legal and political stalemate surfaced shortly after Nechirvan Barzani’s visit to Tehran, suggesting potential shifts in regional political alignments that could impact the governance of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Additionally, the PUK has rejected the IHEC’s decision to halt election preparations, emphasising that the Federal Court’s ruling was specific to seat distribution among electoral districts and did not pertain to the overall election process, further complicating the political landscape in the region.
Originally slated for late 2022, the elections in Iraqi Kurdistan were postponed to the end of 2023 due to ongoing disputes between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), necessitating an extension of the assembly’s mandate.
But it would appear that Nechirvan Barzani has had a change of heart. A source close to the PUK last week disclosed to The New Arab (TNA) that, “[Nechirvan] Barzani will announce a postponement of the region’s parliamentary elections to October or November.” The source further detailed that in a recent visit to Baghdad, Barzani “convinced the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and other political sides to postpone the elections”, adding, “The PUK will not accept delaying the elections, and will issue a strong statement and will complain against the delay at Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court.”
The source also revealed potential longer-term impacts of the postponement to TNA: “The KDP will postpone the region’s parliamentary elections for three months through Barzani, however, the elections will not be held after that, because the mandate of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission will expire following the delay.” They further noted the PUK’s firm stance against further delays, stating, “[The] PUK will not accept delaying the elections, and one option is to withdraw from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), hence the region will be officially splintered into two separate administrations.”