Iraq’s Kurd region not ready for polls: Party spokesman

By Idris Okuducu

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq

Conditions in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region are “not suitable” for holding parliamentary polls later this month, according to Gorran, a Kurdish opposition party.

On Tuesday, leading members of the Movement for Change (“Gorran” in Kurdish) met with counterparts from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah.

After the meeting, Gorran spokesman Shorash Hajji held a joint press conference with KDP spokesman Mahmoud Mohamed, during which the two men answered questions about upcoming Kurdish regional polls, which were initially slated for Sept. 30.

“Current conditions [in the Kurdish region] are not favorable to holding elections later this month,” Hajji told reporters.

He went on to cite the region’s ongoing financial crisis, noting that Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary election had seen exceptionally low turnout.

The KDP spokesman, however, appeared to disagree, insisting that the region was “ready” to hold elections later this month.

“We have the adequate legal and technical infrastructure to conduct elections,” Mohamed said, challenging Hajji’s assertion that the region was in serious financial crisis.