Kurdistan Democratic Party Says No Longer Boycotting Iraqi Kurdistan Elections

Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (R), Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo)
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (R), Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo)
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Kurdistan Democratic Party Says No Longer Boycotting Iraqi Kurdistan Elections

Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (R), Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo)
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani (R), Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani. (AFP file photo)

The Kurdistan Democratic Party, headed by Masoud Barzani, announced that it was no longer going to boycott the Iraqi Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.

The boycott was prompted by objections to the mechanisms related to how to hold the elections.

A KDP official said the party would be taking part in the polls given the changes that have been introduced to the mechanism.

The elections were set for June 10.

The KDP announced the boycott in protest against the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq’s ruling related to the elections, such as eliminating the quota allotted to minorities in the Kurdistan parliament.

The court has since gone back on the ruling.

KDP MP Ekhlas al-Dulaimy told Asharq Al-Awsat that the boycott was sparked by the court rulings and now that some changes have been made, the party will participate in the elections.

She revealed that Kurdistan Region President Nechervan Barzani will issue within two days a decree to set a new date for the elections.

She stressed that the KDP was never against holding the elections or their timing. It had twice called for holding them, however, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan had demanded that they be postponed.

Nechervan Barzani had visited Baghdad following what was described as a successful visit to Iran last month.

In Baghdad, he attended meetings for the State Administration Coalition that backs the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani visited Baghdad last week where he met the majority of political and partisan leaderships. He also held talks with Iraqi President Abdul Latif al-Rashid, Sudani and acting parliament Speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi.



Netanyahu Says Israel Will Continue to Act Against the Houthis

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, on Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, on Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Continue to Act Against the Houthis

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, on Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, on Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue acting against the Houthi militias in Yemen, whom he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order, and called on Israelis to be steadfast.
"Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran's axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis," he said in a video statement a day after a missile fired from Yemen fell in the Tel Aviv area, causing a number of mild injuries.

The US military said it conducted precision airstrikes on Saturday against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

In a statement, the US military's Central Command said the strikes aimed to "disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden.”

The US military also said it struck multiple Houthi one-way drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.

Saturday's strike followed a similar attack last week by US aircraft against a command and control facility operated by the Houthis.

On Thursday, Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen and threatened more attacks against the group, which has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.