Kurdistan
A press roundtable with local media at the US Consulate General in Erbil on March 12, 2023. Photo: US Consulate General
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States “feels strongly” that the Kurdistan Region’s political parties should overcome and resolve their differences on all fronts in order to reach an agreement on elections and revenue for the benefit of the Kurdish people, a top US envoy to the Region said on Sunday afternoon.
In a press roundtable with local media and attended by Rudaw English, Acting US Consul General to the Kurdistan Region Zehra Bell said that “as a friend and partner” to the Region, Washington “feels strongly that the Kurdish political parties put aside their differences and work together for the betterment of the people”.
The statement comes at a time of deepening political disputes within the Kurdistan Region, particularly between the two main political parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) - as well as growing political uncertainty in PUK-controlled Sulaimani following the rift between the party’s co-chairs.
Bell added that an example of cooperation between the parties includes “holding and coming to an agreement on elections as soon as possible” in the Region, as well as establishing a mechanism of “equitable revenue sharing.”
Parliamentary elections were supposed to be held last year in the Kurdistan Region but members of the legislature voted by majority in October to extend the parliament’s four-year term by another year as disagreements between the blocs over the electoral law and commission prevented a new vote from being carried out.
The inability to hold elections on time was largely attributed to the ongoing wrangling between the KDP and the PUK who have been at loggerheads over the elections law. The PUK has said it would only support the initiative once the law has been amended.
“As a partner and friend of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, the United States stands by to help in these efforts and we also encourage the parties to continue to work with UNAMI,” Bell added, referring to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq, in order to reach an agreement to hold elections this year.
Meetings between the two parties have recently resumed, aimed at resolving the issues, with both sides expressing their desire for dialogue. The PUK has boycotted the weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers as a form of protest expressing the party’s concerns with the government.
Last week, a senior advisor to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani told Rudaw that a date will be set before May for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in the Region.
Rudaw also understands that both the KDP and the PUK have agreed on the method of the election as well as coordinating with Iraq’s electoral commission to benefit from their voter list of the Kurdistan Region.
Tensions between the two parties have been heightened over the transparency of the provinces under their influence, and the assassination of a former PUK colonel in Erbil in October.
Despite working together in the KRG, the two parties have established control over different parts of the Region, often being referred to as the “Yellow Zone” and “Green Zone.“ The KDP is dominant in Erbil and Duhok provinces, while the PUK rules Sulaimani and Halabja.
In a press roundtable with local media and attended by Rudaw English, Acting US Consul General to the Kurdistan Region Zehra Bell said that “as a friend and partner” to the Region, Washington “feels strongly that the Kurdish political parties put aside their differences and work together for the betterment of the people”.
The statement comes at a time of deepening political disputes within the Kurdistan Region, particularly between the two main political parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) - as well as growing political uncertainty in PUK-controlled Sulaimani following the rift between the party’s co-chairs.
Bell added that an example of cooperation between the parties includes “holding and coming to an agreement on elections as soon as possible” in the Region, as well as establishing a mechanism of “equitable revenue sharing.”
Parliamentary elections were supposed to be held last year in the Kurdistan Region but members of the legislature voted by majority in October to extend the parliament’s four-year term by another year as disagreements between the blocs over the electoral law and commission prevented a new vote from being carried out.
The inability to hold elections on time was largely attributed to the ongoing wrangling between the KDP and the PUK who have been at loggerheads over the elections law. The PUK has said it would only support the initiative once the law has been amended.
“As a partner and friend of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, the United States stands by to help in these efforts and we also encourage the parties to continue to work with UNAMI,” Bell added, referring to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq, in order to reach an agreement to hold elections this year.
Meetings between the two parties have recently resumed, aimed at resolving the issues, with both sides expressing their desire for dialogue. The PUK has boycotted the weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers as a form of protest expressing the party’s concerns with the government.
Last week, a senior advisor to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani told Rudaw that a date will be set before May for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in the Region.
Rudaw also understands that both the KDP and the PUK have agreed on the method of the election as well as coordinating with Iraq’s electoral commission to benefit from their voter list of the Kurdistan Region.
Tensions between the two parties have been heightened over the transparency of the provinces under their influence, and the assassination of a former PUK colonel in Erbil in October.
Despite working together in the KRG, the two parties have established control over different parts of the Region, often being referred to as the “Yellow Zone” and “Green Zone.“ The KDP is dominant in Erbil and Duhok provinces, while the PUK rules Sulaimani and Halabja.
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