ERBIL — The Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced on Thursday that it will formally request the Kurdistan Region Presidency to set a new date for the parliamentary elections in the Region.

Jumana al-Ghalai, a spokesperson for the commission, explained to Kurdistan 24, “Following the Iraqi Council of Representatives' vote on the second amendment to the High Elections Commission Law No. 31-2019, which extended the Commission’s mandate for six months until early January 2025, the Board of Commissioners is now mandated to hold the Kurdistan Regional Parliament elections within this timeframe. The Board of Commissioners is prepared to conduct the elections in accordance with international standards.”

“The Commission will engage with the Kurdistan Region to issue a decree setting a new date for the elections,” she added,

Ghalai noted that the Board of Commissioners and the electoral commission had made substantial progress in preparing for the Kurdistan Parliament elections, originally scheduled for June 10.

The decision to hold the parliamentary vote follows the recent ruling by Iraq's Supreme Federal Court, which annulled the 11 quota seats designated for ethnic and religious groups residing in the Region to ensure representation for all communities.

Furthermore, the court's decision has transitioned the Kurdistan Region's electoral law from a single-district voting system to a four-district model, with political parties competing for 100 seats in the parliament.

However, the Election Judicial Board (IEB) has ordered Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to allocate five seats in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament to various communities.

The decision was issued on May 20th, based on a complaint against the distribution of seats in the Kurdistan parliament "without measures to protect" the right to represent communities.

The Electoral Judiciary, which belongs to the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, has obliged the IHEC. Five seats should be allocated to different communities in the Kurdistan Region: two seats for Erbil, two seats for Sulaimaniyah, and one seat for Duhok province.