Baghdad (The Hawk): The lawmakers of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have voted to extend the regional parliament's current four-year legislative term by one year.
The bill was passed with a majority of 80 lawmakers in a session held on Sunday, with many Kurdish opposition lawmakers abstaining from Islamic parties and independent lawmakers, according to Xinhua news agency, citing a statement from the regional parliament.
According to the statement, the bill's goal is to prevent a legal vacuum and ensure the smooth operation of constitutional institutions.
The extension came after Kurdish political parties failed to hold regional parliamentary elections on October 1st, as regional president Nechirvan Barzani had promised in February.
The failure to hold elections was caused by disagreements between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) over electoral districts and the regional quota of seats for ethnic and religious groups.
On September 30, 2018, regional parliamentary elections were held, with the KDP taking the lead with 45 seats and the PUK coming in second with 21 seats out of 111.
(Inputs from Agencies)
