ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – With terms ending this month, political parties and provincial councils are calling for provincial elections to be held simultaneously with Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections on September 30 with some in Sulaimani warning of disastrous consequences if the vote is delayed.
On May 24, Sulaimani’s Provincial Council urged the KRG’s Council of Ministers in an official letter to hold provincial elections on September 30.
Council secretary Mahdi Mahmood said they have not received a response yet and warned that a failure to act promptly on the matter “will lead to problems because there is a possibility the election could be delayed by one or two more years.”
If delayed, he said, “Sulaimani will engulf in tensions as, according to a political agreement, the post of the governor had been divided between Gorran and PUK for two years each and now both terms have expired.”
Sulaimani is the stronghold of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its offshoot Gorran.
In 2014 local elections, Gorran came first with 12 seats, one ahead of the PUK.
The Gorran-PUK competition for the governorship was resolved when the two parties reached a power-sharing deal that saw a PUK candidate as governor for the first two years and then a Gorran candidate took over for the second half of the four-year term.
Relations between the parties took a turn for the worse after the May 12 Iraqi parliament elections when Gorran accused the PUK of electoral fraud.
Current terms for provincial councils will end on June 24.
If elections are delayed, under their bylaws the council could continue until election day, according to Rekawt Zaki, a PUK member of the Sulaimani Provincial Council.
Firsat Sofi, a KDP member of the Kurdistan regional parliament, however, said that elections must be held no later than three months after the councils’ terms expire.
The KDP supports holding both elections at the same time, Sofi added.
Duhok provincial officials also want the votes to be held jointly and have sent a letter stating their position to the Region’s electoral commission.
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani is expected to make a statement on the matter in the near future, according to a source within the Council of Ministers.
If, after consulting with Kurdistan’s electoral commission, it is decided that holding the two elections simultaneously is financially feasible, then it is expected Barzani will approve doing so.
The electoral commission is waiting for the official go ahead in order to begin preparations. It has begun preparing for the regional parliament elections – party registration is open until June 7.
Gorran agrees that it would be good for both votes to be held together, but after the debacle of the Iraqi elections, one Gorran official warned that trust in the electoral system has eroded to the point that it may be “better if the elections are not held at all.”
“If they are held, we need guarantees that what happened in the Iraqi election, will not repeat in those of Kurdistan,” he said anonymously.
Kurdistan Regional parliament elections were last held in 2013. Provincial elections were held in 2014.
Iraq is expected to hold provincial elections in December.
On May 24, Sulaimani’s Provincial Council urged the KRG’s Council of Ministers in an official letter to hold provincial elections on September 30.
Council secretary Mahdi Mahmood said they have not received a response yet and warned that a failure to act promptly on the matter “will lead to problems because there is a possibility the election could be delayed by one or two more years.”
If delayed, he said, “Sulaimani will engulf in tensions as, according to a political agreement, the post of the governor had been divided between Gorran and PUK for two years each and now both terms have expired.”
Sulaimani is the stronghold of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its offshoot Gorran.
In 2014 local elections, Gorran came first with 12 seats, one ahead of the PUK.
The Gorran-PUK competition for the governorship was resolved when the two parties reached a power-sharing deal that saw a PUK candidate as governor for the first two years and then a Gorran candidate took over for the second half of the four-year term.
Relations between the parties took a turn for the worse after the May 12 Iraqi parliament elections when Gorran accused the PUK of electoral fraud.
Current terms for provincial councils will end on June 24.
If elections are delayed, under their bylaws the council could continue until election day, according to Rekawt Zaki, a PUK member of the Sulaimani Provincial Council.
Firsat Sofi, a KDP member of the Kurdistan regional parliament, however, said that elections must be held no later than three months after the councils’ terms expire.
The KDP supports holding both elections at the same time, Sofi added.
Duhok provincial officials also want the votes to be held jointly and have sent a letter stating their position to the Region’s electoral commission.
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani is expected to make a statement on the matter in the near future, according to a source within the Council of Ministers.
If, after consulting with Kurdistan’s electoral commission, it is decided that holding the two elections simultaneously is financially feasible, then it is expected Barzani will approve doing so.
The electoral commission is waiting for the official go ahead in order to begin preparations. It has begun preparing for the regional parliament elections – party registration is open until June 7.
Gorran agrees that it would be good for both votes to be held together, but after the debacle of the Iraqi elections, one Gorran official warned that trust in the electoral system has eroded to the point that it may be “better if the elections are not held at all.”
“If they are held, we need guarantees that what happened in the Iraqi election, will not repeat in those of Kurdistan,” he said anonymously.
Kurdistan Regional parliament elections were last held in 2013. Provincial elections were held in 2014.
Iraq is expected to hold provincial elections in December.
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