US will not object to a short delay of Kurdistan elections: Spox

WASHINGTON, United States  - US will not object to a short delay of Kurdistan Region's parliamentary elections if that is required to reach an agreement among parties, a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw on Wednesday.

Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has suspended preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region, multiple sources told Rudaw on Wednesday.

"We understand that IHEC may require some delay in order to implement some of the changes that the parties are negotiating," a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw via an email.

"We think an agreement between the parties is essential and do not object to a short delay if that is required to reach an agreement," added the spokesperson. 

The Kurdistan Region is set to hold parliamentary elections on June 10, with a nearly two-year delay, after multiple postponements caused by disputes between political parties and pending legal cases related to the electoral process.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani paid a three-day visit to Baghdad on Saturday, holding meetings with the federal authorities. Dilshad Shahab, Kurdistan Region Presidency spokesperson, said on Monday that the fate of the Region’s elections was among key topics discussed in Baghdad.

"Our understanding is that President Barzani and various other authorities are actively considering next steps and we will let that process play out before commenting," US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Pate told Rudaw on Tuesday during a press briefing.

Kurdistan Region's parliamentary elections were initially scheduled for October 2022 but faced multiple postponements due to the disputes among the political parties, and lastly Kurdistan Region President Barzani on March 3rd announced that the new date for the Region’s parliamentary elections is June 10.

Later in mid-March the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced that it would not take part in the Region’s polls on June 10, labelling the elections “illegal” and “unconstitutional” following the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court’s ruling to eliminate minority quota seats.

Despite KDP's decision not to take apart in the elections, majority of the Kurdistan Region’s political parties, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the power-sharer in government, announced their participation in the vote and still demanding the election to be held on the scheduled date on June 10.

Updated at 9:27 pm