ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) is ready to supervise the Kurdistan Region’s delayed parliamentary election on time even if unexpected developments occur, an official from the commission said on Thursday.
A lawsuit submitted to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court and unknown fate of money the IHEC needs to supervise the Kurdistan Region’s February 25 vote have made many speculate that the already-delayed poll might not be held on time.
Al-Hassan Qabas, a member of the IHEC’s media team, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Thursday that they have already begun preparations for the Kurdish region’s election, adding that unexpected development will not affect their plan for the vote.
“We as the commission began our preparations for the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election nearly two months ago,” Qabas said, adding that the first phase was dedicated to register voters, update the voter list, and finalize instructions related to political parties' representatives, local and international observers and media outlets.
“In the next phase, the political parties and candidates will be registered,” he noted.
The poll was initially scheduled for October 2022, but was pushed to November of the same year due to disagreements between the political parties over the election law.
After an Iraqi court ruling against the self-extension of the Kurdistan parliament because of the delayed election, the poll was postponed to February 2024, this time under the supervision of the Iraqi electoral commission.
The Iraqi federal government is required to finance the budget for the Kurdistan parliamentary elections in accordance with the recent extension of the IHEC’s term and the amendment of its laws. The delay in financing the budget is reportedly due to the Iraqi government awaiting the Federal Supreme Court’s ruling on a legal complaint filed against some of the articles in the Kurdish parliament’s elections law.
A session to rule on the case was set to be held on Sunday, but was postponed to December 27.
The IHEC official said they have requested the money from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.
“In the last few days, the prime minister directed the Council of Ministers to allocate a sufficient amount of money for the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections. I think this subject will be determined in the coming days,” he stated.
“We at the commission always take into consideration any unexpected developments when implementing the agenda. Therefore, we have dedicated spare time [for any unusual changes]... Regarding preparations related to the devices and issuance of voter cards, the commission continues its work as scheduled. If any developments occur, hopefully we will resolve it on time,” the official added.
Qabas said that unlike Iraqi parliamentary elections, the Kurdish vote is easier to supervise because “it is only three provinces.”
“Everything will be done on time,” he noted, adding that “the remaining two months is a sufficient.”
Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, a politburo member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told journalists on Wednesday that the elections will be held before June.
Dawood Salman, IHEC head of procedures, told Rudaw on Sunday that “The commission has sent the estimated budget for the Kurdistan parliament elections to the Iraqi Council of Ministers, which is approximately 60 billion dinars,” adding that the budget has yet to be provided, which might create problems for the electoral commission’s agenda and schedule.
“That money is needed for the procedures of the commission, as without it we cannot sign contracts with the companies,” he stated.
