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A leading member of the Turkmen Front said, the US government has intensified its efforts to persuade the diverse ethnic groups of Kirkuk to participate in the upcoming provincial elections.
Mardin Qaya, politburo member of the Turkmen Front told KirkukNow, “The US has been holding separate meetings in Baghdad over the past two weeks with representatives of the different components of Kirkuk to urge them to agree on a mechanism to hold the elections in the multi-ethnic province.
It is still unclear when the next provincial elections would be held.
Fourty three enters opened in and around Kirkuk to renew electoral register
The process was planned for December 2018; however it was delayed until further notice. The electoral body in Iraq is making preparations to hold the elections in November this year, but the date is yet to be approved by the parliament.
Abdul-Basit Darwish, media director of the elections high commission in Kirkuk said, “We have started the renewal of the electoral register, and for this purpose we opened 43 centers in and around Kirkuk.”
He added that “according to the new register, those who are born in 2001 will be eligible to vote”, urging citizens to visit these centers to make sure their names are included.
The last provincial elections in Iraq, except Kirkuk, were held in 2013. The elections have not been held in the multi-ethnic province for 14 years due to long-standing disputes over several issues, including the electoral register and the normalization of the situation there.
