KDP spokesperson urges the parties that withdrew from the elections to reverse their decision

Shafaq News/ A spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) called on 27 parties to refrain from boycotting the Iraqi elections sought to be held next October.

In a statement issued earlier today, Saturday, the party's official spokesperson, Mahmoud Muhammad, "As a result of the demonstrations and protests that took place in the Iraqi governorates...the demand [of holding early elections] became a public demand, even among the political parties, in order to provide appropriate solutions to the accumulated political and economic crises and the lack of service that Iraqi citizens suffer from its consequences."

He continued, "to address the crises afflicting Iraq and find appropriate solutions to the demands of Iraqi citizens, early elections to form a new federal government became the optimal solution. On this basis, the necessary decision was taken. However, some parties, as a result of the exacerbation of crises..., some parties announced that they would not participate in the elections."

"We, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, sought that that holding election with the participation of all political parties is a good window towards resolving the outstanding problems and crises, achieving the demands of the Iraqi people, aiding the political process, and keeping it from the stagnation. Hence, we in the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and based on the public interest of all Iraqis, call on the brothers in the Sadrist movement, and the other 26 parties who pulled out from the Iraqi elections, to reconsider their decision."

Last July, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, toppled the first domino in a series of withdrawals. Shortly after, the Iraqi Communist Party and the Iraqi Tribune dropped out. Saleh al-Mutlaq's Iraqi Front for National Dialogue was another major party that joined the caravan.