Diyala to be divided into 4 electoral districts

Shafaq News / A Parliamentary source in Diyala revealed today, Monday, that parliamentary sides agreed to divide Diyala governorate into 4 electoral districts in the upcoming elections, in a time Jbara and Qarah Tabbah are still under deliberation between the Kurdish and Arab MPs.

The source told Shafaq News agency, "a Shiite-Sunni agreement was reached between the representatives of Diyala, to merge Bald Ruz and Miqdadiyah districts into one electoral district, and divide the districts of Khalis, Baquba, and Khanaqin into 3 electoral districts".

The source affirmed, "the agreements are preliminary and were not finalized at all", indicating that, "the discussions between Kurdish and Arab MPs on merging Khanaqin and the deducted parts of Kifri district of Kurdistan in a single electoral constituency".

For his part, the mayor of Kifri, Jalal Nuri, stated to Shafaq News agency, “it is not possible to merge the two districts of Kafri and Khanaqin into one electoral district, as was rumored in the media, without clarifying legal details.

Kafri has is an independent district from Diyala since 1991, and it administratively follows Kurdistan Region and cannot be combined with Khanaqin in one electoral district".

Nuri explained, "the deducted areas from Kifri district, the areas of Jbara and Qarah Tabbah, which are administratively following Khanaqin district, can be combined with Khanaqin in one district.

This is a preliminary agreement made between the political forces", noting that, "we cannot know any details or changes that may occur during the parliamentary talks between Arab and Kurdish representatives regarding the election law under discussion".