SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on Saturday the upcoming parliamentary elections will be held on time, vowing no “backtrack on our state-building program”.
We are committed to enforcing our govt program, in spite of those manufacturing crises,” Kadhimi said in a tweet. “Whoever seeks to spread negativity to destroy Iraqis’ hopes for a better future won’t succeed.”
“Elections will be held on time, God willing. We will not backtrack on our state-building program.”
In July, Kadhimi called for early elections to take place on June 6, 2021, which was one of the main demands of anti-government protesters who organized months of mass demonstrations beginning in October 2020.
But the Iraqi government postponed the elections to October 10, after the Iraqi electoral commission asked the prime minister to delay the voting to Oct. 16 in an effort to complete technical preparations.
On March 23, the Independent High Electoral Commission announced it had cancelled overseas vote for the upcoming parliamentary elections, citing the coronavirus as well as technical, financial and legal issues facing the commission to hold overseas voting.
