Barazani says parliamentary polls on July 25

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Massoud al-Barazani on Tuesday set July 25 as the date for parliamentary elections in the region. “I call on everyone to respect the political diversity and urge the people of Kurdistan to widely participate in the elections…,” Barazani said in a speech before the Parliament today. The president also called on government institutions to cooperate with the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to “render the electoral process a success.” Yesterday (May 4), the media advisor of the Kurdistan Parliament’s speaker, Tareq Johar, said that the Kurdistan Parliament on Tuesday will host President Barazani, who will announce the date of the forthcoming elections in a speech to parliamentarians. During a session in April, the Parliament authorized the region’s president to set the date of parliamentary elections. Parliamentary polls in autonomous region were scheduled to be held on May 19, but were postponed due to the Parliament’s endorsement of the amended law on elections. SS (P) 1