Iraq’s Supreme Court to review Kurdistan PM's Lawsuit against Electoral Commission

Shafaq News/ The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq, the highest judicial authority, has announced its intention to review a lawsuit brought forward by the Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani against the Independent High Electoral Commission.

According to a statement issued by the court, the lawsuit includes "a request for a ruling on the unconstitutionality of Article (2) of the List Registration and Approval System for the Kurdistan Iraq Parliament Elections No. (7) for 2024 issued by the Independent High Electoral Commission."

The statement clarified that the Federal Supreme Court is considering this lawsuit within its specified jurisdiction under Article (93/First) of the 2005 Constitution of the Republic of Iraq, which states, "The Federal Supreme Court is competent in the following matters: overseeing the constitutionality of laws and effective regulations."

Earlier today, the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq announced on Thursday that it will accept an appeal temporarily halting the technical and financial preparations for the upcoming elections in the Kurdistan Region.

According to an official document issued by the council, the Election Commission deemed it necessary to suspend all ongoing technical and financial procedures. This includes the allocation of devices, the printing of ballot papers, the work of the auditing company, and the execution of tasks outlined in the operational timetable for the elections.

The document further indicated that these crucial aspects cannot proceed from a technical and procedural standpoint until the case is resolved before the Federal Supreme Court.

The number of eligible voters in the Kurdistan Parliament elections is approximately 3.7 million people.

The last elections, held in 2018, saw the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) win 45 out of 111 seats, while the PUK won 21 seats.