President Barzani announces the date of Kurdistan's parliamentary election

Shafaq News/ The President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, on Thursday issued a decree setting the date for the Region's parliamentary election to October 1, 2022.

The decree tasks the parliament, government, and the electoral commission to start preparing for the electoral process, according to a statement from the presidency bureau .

The issuance of the decree comes after a presidential delegation earlier this month visited the political parties in the region as part of their efforts to reach a consensus ahead of the elections.

The Kurdistan Parliament has 111 members elected by popular vote every four years. Sixteen parties and lists are in the current parliament term that began in November 2018. Of these, eight are parties or lists that represent Turkmen, Christian and Armenian communities in Kurdistan Region. Of the 111 seats, 11 are reserved for these communities. By law, women must hold at least 30% of seats.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has the largest share of seats in the current lineup of the Region's legislative body with 45. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) lies second with 21 seats.