The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Parliament announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to postpone the presidential and legislative elections, which were planned to be held on Nov. 1, for eight months.
The decision was approved by the KRG parliament, with 60 members of the 111-seat assembly voting in favor and eight against, Macid Bazirgan, a Turkmen lawmaker for the city of Erbil, the KRG’s administrative capital, said.
The vote session, however, was boycotted by the Kurdish Movement for Change (Gorran) and the Kurdistan Islamic Society Party (Komel), the Kurdish region’s two main opposition parties.
Last week, the KRG announced the suspension of all preparations for the planned Nov. 1 polls amid steadily mounting tension between Baghdad and Erbil in the wake of last month’s illegitimate referendum.
It had stopped short of suspending, or calling off, the polls altogether, however.
On Sept. 25, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held an illegal referendum, voting on whether or not to declare independence from Baghdad.
It faced strong opposition from international actors, who warned that the poll would distract from Iraq’s fight against terrorism and further destabilize the region.
