
By Manal Abdel Fattah
Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani stressed the impossibility of accepting the idea of holding elections amid confirmed violations committed against citizens in Iraqi Kurdistan, indicating in his speech to the European Union ambassador the necessity of moving from revolutionary legitimacy to constitutional legitimacy in Iraq in general.
Today, Wednesday, Masoud Barzani received in Erbil the European Union Ambassador to Iraq, Thomas Seiler, to exchange views on the political situation in Iraq and the issue of elections in the Kurdistan region.
Barzani noted that the Kurdistan Democratic Party, after the uprising, was the initiator of democracy and holding elections, and the transition from revolutionary legitimacy to legal and constitutional legitimacy, and was always ready to hold elections in the Kurdistan region, and that he had observations regarding the elections due to the components being deprived of them, and the increase in technical problems, unconstitutional amendments, and attempts to Designing pre-election results.
Barzani indicated that he made his decision in order to protect democratic values and hold fair elections, stressing that the “Kurdistan Democratic Party” demands that all technical issues that prevent holding healthy elections be addressed as soon as possible, and to find an appropriate formula for the participation of the components and not to violate their rights, and to call on the international community and the United Nations to ensure Holding transparent and fair elections that reflect the true will of the people of Kurdistan.
The Kurdish leader said, “It is not possible to hold free, fair and just elections within the date specified for the electoral process, but there is progress made with regard to the parties working together to end differences and imbalances.”
Barzani continued, “Certainly, addressing these problems requires more opportunities, so postponing the elections for a few months is much more important than holding elections in which the rights of voters and components are violated.”
Barzani expressed his hope to be able to address all obstacles and gaps with the participation of all concerned parties, in addition to the United Nations and the Iraqi Election Commission, and to prepare for holding real, fair and transparent elections and finding an appropriate settlement for the participation of the components.
The European Union ambassador to Iraq said that the European Union takes the observations and reservations of the Kurdistan Democratic Party about the technical aspects of the elections and the deprivation of the components seriously and is following closely with the United Nations the steps to address these problems, explaining that the European Union and the United Nations agree that if the elections are held without participation A party as large as the Kurdistan Democratic Party would, in this case, be unsuccessful and undemocratic.