Iraqi Kurds Vote in Long-Delayed Parliamentary Election
Iraqi Kurds began voting on Sunday in a long-overdue parliamentary election for their semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq. The vote, which was delayed multiple times due to political disputes, aims to elect 100 lawmakers who will later select a parliament speaker, president, and prime minister for the region, which has enjoyed self-rule since 1991.
Originally scheduled for 2022, the elections were postponed due to disagreements between the two dominant Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Despite the delays, the two parties are expected to maintain their decades-long power-sharing arrangement, given the weak opposition presence.
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“We hope that a unified regional government will be formed as soon as possible and that the situation of citizens will improve,” said Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan, after casting his vote in the Kurdish capital of Erbil.
Polls will close at 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), and the election results will shape the political landscape of the region, which has struggled with internal divisions and external pressures in recent years.
