KRG postpones elections after referendum row, cites lack of candidates

The presidential and parliament elections in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will not be held as planned on Nov. 1 as political parties did not present candidates, the head of the electoral commission Hendrean Mohammed said Monday.

The commission will refer the matter to parliament to fix a new date, he told Reuters by phone from the regional capital Erbil. The deadline to present candidates expired last week and was extended until Monday.

Presidential elections have been delayed since August 2015, and the parliament has not convened since October 2015.

The timing of the controversial Sept. 25 independence referendum held in KRG and areas contested with Baghdad was criticized by KRG opposition parties and neighboring countries, who accused President Massoud Barzani and his ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of trying to raise their declining popularity with the referendum.

As Baghdad moved to retake control of areas captured by KRG's Peshmerga during Daesh's blitz in summer of 2014, KDP rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) chose to not to involve itself in armed clashes with Iraqi forces, retreating to 2014 borders and forcing KDP to follow suit.

The loss of Kirkuk and other contentious areas started a new political debate in KRG, with each party blaming the others for the blunder.