Iraq’s electoral commission suspends preparations for Kurdistan elections

IRBIL, North Iraq, The Supreme Elections Commission declared on Wednesday suspension of preparations for prospected parliamentary elections in the northern autonomous Kurdistan Region. The commission has taken the decision pending a ruling by the Supreme Court on a libel suit that had been filed by the Kurdistan Region's Prime Minster Masrour Barzani who argued that distribution of the constituencies was unconstitutional and called for the suspension of the commission electoral works, said spokesperson of the commission Jumana Al-Ghlai in remarks to KUNA. The court, Iraq's supreme tribunal, issued a ruling on Tuesday, suspending tasks of the commission regarding the polls, due on June 10. The tribunal declared in a statement that it had suspended registration and approval of the nominees' lists pending a verdict on the libel suit. Observers familiar with the case affirm that the forecast polls have been peppered with plentiful technical issues. The Presidency of the Kurdish region has set the polls on Ju ne 10th, originally scheduled in February. They had been delayed due to political differences -- in addition to the technical problems. The Democratic Party of Kurdistan, the Region's ruling party, had come up first in the previous elections at the regional and central levels. Last polls in the Kurdish region were held in 2021, when the Democratic party won 38 seats, the Change Movement came second with 24 and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan came third with 18 seats. The local legislative assembly comprises 100 seats. Source: Kuwait News Agency