UN mission extension and Kurdistan elections: Qubad Talabani voices concern

Shafaq News/ Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Qubad Talabani, expressed his concern over the postponement of the elections process, stressing that there are no justifications for this postponement after the end of the "pretexts or arguments" that were presented.

This came while Talabani received a delegation from the United Nations, headed by Claudio Cordone, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance.

During the meeting, the political situation in the region was discussed, in addition to the issue of parliamentary elections in Kurdistan, according to a statement received by Shafaq News Agency.

Talabani expressed his pleasure at extending the work of the United Nations Mission in Iraq, hoping that the "mission will play a decisive role in organizing the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kurdistan to ensure the integrity of the results and the confidence of the residents."

"There are no longer any pretexts or arguments to postpone the elections further, especially since the Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq has made all the necessary preparations to hold the elections," he said.

Notably, the Kurdistan Region elections were initially scheduled two years ago but have faced several delays since then. The polls were most recently set for June 10, but the Iraqi electoral body announced its inability to supervise the process on that date, proposing September 5 as an alternative. However, a new date for the elections has not yet been announced.