President Barzani, top diplomats discuss Kurdistan elections

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Tuesday received the ambassadors of the European Union and France in Iraq, discussing the significance of holding Kurdistan Region’s long-overdue parliamentary elections. 

President Barzani received Thomas Seiler, ambassador of the European Union in Iraq, in Erbil on Tuesday. 

“During their discussion, they shared perspectives on the upcoming Kurdistan parliamentary elections, emphasizing the significance of these elections in revitalizing legitimacy and the democratic process. The EU Ambassador commended President Nechirvan Barzani for his concerted efforts to ensure the elections take place and for addressing challenges to the electoral process,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency. 

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.

“Honoured to have met with President Nechirvan Barzani of KRI. We discussed current political and economic challenges of KRI and the relations of KRG with Baghdad. I reiterated the strong need for free and fair elections,” Seiler said in a post on X. 

President Barzani also received the French Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Durel.

“Both sides underscored the importance of holding the Kurdistan parliamentary elections with the participation of all parties,” according to a separate statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency. 

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest Kurdish party and the dominant force in both Erbil and Duhok provinces, has decided to boycott the polls, claiming that the Iraqi federal court’s recent ruling on the minority seats and the division of the Region into four constituencies are “unconstitutional.”

Shakhawan Abdullah, second deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, told reporters on Tuesday that the elections cannot take place without the participation of the KDP. 

Abdullah, who is also a member of the KDP central committee, said his party and the country’s electoral commission are holding talks “to take the concerns seriously.”

Despite the KDP’s boycott, Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) continues preparations for the general elections. Last week the commission announced that two alliances, ten political parties, and 57 independent candidates registered for the vote.