President Barzani meets Duhok officials to discuss election preparations

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani held a meeting with Duhok Governor Ali Tatar and the heads of administrative units in the governorate.

According to a statement from the Kurdish Presidency, the discussion centered around the general situation in Duhok and public service delivery across the Region. The meeting addressed the needs of the governorate, the challenges faced by local administrations, and potential solutions.

“The governor and the administrative leaders presented their programs, work plans, and ongoing projects across various sectors. They also shared their vision for improving the quality of services in Duhok and its surrounding areas,” as per the statement.

Preparations for the upcoming Kurdistan parliamentary elections were another key focus of the meeting. President Barzani stressed the importance of conducting “a peaceful election campaign under guidelines set by the relevant authorities.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Barzani commended the efforts of the governor and the local leaders for the services they provide to the citizens of the Region.

On Thursday, the Kurdistan Regional Election Commission, which operates under Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission, conducted its fifth election simulation ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for next month.

Back in June, President Nechirvan Barzani issued a Regional decree setting October 20, 2024, as the official date for the Kurdistan parliamentary elections.

Elections for Kurdistan’s parliament, originally scheduled for 2022, were set for June 10. However, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has the parliamentary majority, announced it would boycott the election in protest of a ruling issued by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court.

This court decided to cancel 11 seats reserved for minority groups, including Turkmen, Assyrians, Christians, and Armenians, reducing the number of Regional Parliament seats to 100.

The ruling also changed the electoral system, dividing the Kurdistan Region into four constituencies instead of the single-constituency system used in the 2018 elections.

The federal court ruling also gave authority to the Iraqi IHEC to organize and oversee Regional elections instead of the Kurdish Regional Election Commission.

In late May, the federal court issued a new ruling restoring five seats reserved for minorities, a move that Kurdish officials said helped ease tensions and convinced the KDP to agree to participate in the October elections.

The October vote is expected to elect 100 new lawmakers representing the governorates of Iraqi Kurdistan: Erbil (34 seats, including one for Christians and one for Turkmen), Halabja (three seats), Al-Sulaymaniyah (38 seats, including one for Christians and one for Turkmen), and Duhok (25 seats, including one for Christians).