Rifts continue, even after setting date for parliamentary polls in Kurdistan region
Despite rampant political rifts in the Kurdistan region, the presidency of the region has set a date for the parliamentary elections.
This announcement was met with approval from all parties
in the region.
The presidency of the Kurdistan region said it
would hold the parliamentary elections on November 18.
Presidency Spokesman, Dilshad Shihab, said all
parties agree on the date of the elections.
He pointed out at a press briefing that relations
between his region and the US are at their best.
He referred to what he described as 'good
understanding' on the issue of oil and gas.
Shihab added that the political components of the
Kurdistan region would not allow anybody to impose its will on them.
He called on all political forces to take into
account the public interest and solve all the problems related to the
Independent High Commission for Elections and Referendums in the Kurdistan region
for the success of the elections.
Upcoming meeting
The leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party,
Mahmoud Khoshnaw, said although the date of the elections has been set, there
are a number of issues that have not been resolved.
These issues, he said, include the failure of
Kurdish political forces to reach a comprehensive agreement on the election law.
"There are differences of opinion and different
positions on the issue of reaching a comprehensive agreement on the amendment
of the election law," he told The Reference.
Khoshnaw added that the current law has lost its
homogeneity with the socio-political changes of the Kurdistan region.
This is why, he said, there are calls for changing
the law.
He referred to four basic points in the law,
including the distribution of districts from one to four districts.
He stressed that the elections cannot be held
before the amendment of the electoral law.
"There will be no amendment of the law
before there is a political agreement between all parties, and this is also
still under discussion," Khoshnaw said.
He expected a meeting to be held during the
coming days of the election bureaus of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the
Kurdistan Democratic Party to discuss controversial points.
On top of these points, he said, is how to deal
with the basic components in the region.
