Lahur Sheikh Jangi: PUK lacks necessary courage to hold elections amid KDP boycott
Shafaq News / Lahur Sheikh Jangi, the leader of the People's Front Party, voiced concerns on Wednesday that the Kurdistan Region faces "risks", emphasizing that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) "lacks the necessary courage" to hold elections amid the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) boycott.
Sheikh Jangi expressed solidarity with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani's call for Kurdish unity and the resolution of differences. He urged both the PUK and KDP to agree not to postpone the elections and to proceed as scheduled, stating firmly, "I am not in favor of postponing the elections."
He stressed that "the Region is now under threat from risks, which are increasing day by day due to the obstruction of its constitutional institutions. It is essential to hold the elections and not to delay them."
Addressing the insistence of the PUK on holding the elections on time without the participation of the KDP, Sheikh Jangi stated that "if the KDP does not participate, the PUK will not dare to hold the elections."
Earlier on Wednesday, Bafel Talabani, the head of the PUK, stated that the Kurdistan Parliament elections would take place as scheduled on June 10.
Additionally, Kurdistan Region Vice President Qubad Talabani stated that "the PUK, its candidates, and its organizational centers have completed preparations to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for June 10, and all our procedures are ready to be conducted on time."
In March, the KDP declared its decision to boycott the upcoming Regional parliamentary elections, warning of potential withdrawal from Iraq's political process.
The decision came after the Federal Supreme Court took verdicts regarding the Kurdish elections, including canceling the quota seats, dividing the Kurdish Regions into four constituencies instead of the single-constituency system in previous elections, and Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission to take over from KRG's electoral commission to supervise parliamentary elections.
"We believe that it is in the interest of our people and our country not to comply with an unconstitutional decision and a system imposed from outside the will of the people of Kurdistan and its constitutional institutions and not to participate in elections conducted contrary to the law, the constitution, and under the umbrella of an imposed electoral system." KDP statement said.
Notably, the KDP is a prominent political force in Kurdistan. It is the oldest Kurdish political Party in Iraq.
In the current Kurdish Parliament, the Party holds 45 seats out of 111, followed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan with 21 seats and the Gorran Movement with 12 seats.
