Analysis: Iraq parliament moves towards pre-election showdown
Amid the climax in the war against ISIL and the uproar over an independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq’s political class also faces challenges in getting prepared for national and provincial elections next year. Provincial elections, last held in April 2013, were expected to be held in May of this year but were postponed until September. In […]Kirk Sowell writes for The National:
Amid the climax in the war against ISIL and the uproar over an independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq’s political class also faces challenges in getting prepared for national and provincial elections next year.
Provincial elections, last held in April 2013, were expected to be held in May of this year but were postponed until September. In August, however, parliament decided to postpone the polls again, this time merging them with the next national elections. Iraq last held national elections in April 2014 and is expected to hold them again in April next year, although constitutionally could hold them through the middle of the following month.
New legislation is supposed to be passed in Iraq for each new election, determining how it will be carried out. Parliament had been expected to pass new laws for both the upcoming provincial and national elections, as well as choose a new board of commissioners for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) — but it has run into several problems on these issues.
