Led by KDP and PUK, a group of seven parties reach an agreement over election law

Shafaq News/ A group of seven Kurdish parties has agreed on holding parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan region using a constituency-based electoral system and adopting the biometric register of Iraq's federal election commission.

The agreement was made public via a joint statement by the seven Kurdish parties, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

The statement, issued on Saturday, outlined the outcome of a meeting held between the Electoral Commission of the PUK and KDP, and representatives of five other Kurdish parties.

During the meeting, "frank discussions" were held on issues related to amending the election law and activating the Electoral Commission.

The "necessary decisions" were made regarding the topics, the first of which was to follow a four-constituency electoral system according to the regions of the Kurdistan region. The biometric register of the independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq will be adopted, along with all its requirements. In addition, data from the Ministry of Planning in the federal government will be used to determine the percentage of seats for each district.

The joint statement laid emphasis on "activating the Electoral Commission and holding consultations with representatives of components inside and outside the parliament."

On Friday, Ali Hussein, the head of the Sulaymaniyah-Halabja branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, announced that the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, would set a date for parliamentary elections in the region after meetings and consultations with Kurdish political forces and parties.