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The Iraqi electoral commission on Sunday said it has suggested May 12, 2018 as a date for the next parliamentary elections for the next four-year legislative term, a commission official said.
The Council of Commissioners of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) proposes the new date for the cabinet of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to be the date of the elections of the parliament for its next legislative term, Gatie al-Zouba'i, deputy head of IHEC's Commissioners Council said in a statement.
According to the Iraqi constitution, the parliamentary elections must be held at least 45 days before the end of the current legislative term, and the date of the elections must be set by a resolution of Abadi's cabinet in coordination with the IHEC. The elections date must be ratified later by the current parliament before the endorsement of the Presidential Council to be fully approved.
Iraq's previous general election was held on April 30, 2014, when Iraqis elected 328 lawmakers for the parliament, which in turn elected Abadi to form an inclusive government from the Shiite alliance, Kurds and Sunnis.
Zouba'i did not say whether the elections will be held simultaneously with the provincial elections, as the parliament on Aug. 7 voted by majority to merge the country's parliamentary and provincial elections in 2018.
In addition, it is not yet clear whether the Kurdish parties will join the Iraqi elections following the referendum on September 25 on the independence of the Kurdish region and disputed areas, which won a majority of some 93 percent of the voters.
The latest date for the elections came despite escalating tensions between Baghdad and the region of Kurdistan due to the controversial independence referendum.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
