President Bafel: PUK Insists on Conducting Fair & Timely Elections

P.U.K 07:04 PM - 2024-03-06

PUK President's meeting with U.S. delegation

Bafel Jalal Talabani, the President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), welcomed Victoria Taylor, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, at the Political Bureau headquarters in Erbil.

The main topics of discussion during the meeting, which was attended by Mark Stroh, the US Consul General for the Kurdistan Region, were the most recent political, economic, and security developments in both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Additionally, they addressed the upcoming Kurdistan parliamentary elections. They also reaffirmed the ongoing productive discussions between the political factions and parties to uphold stability and address the obstacles.

The coalition forces' present and future involvement in the fight against terrorism as well as their backing of the armed forces of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region were also discussed at the meeting. In this context, President Bafel stated: "The coalition forces' ongoing presence must be in line with the needs and circumstances of the surrounding area and also contribute to the preservation of regional stability."

"In order to achieve this objective, we endorse the negotiations between the Iraqi government and the coalition with the aim of establishing mutual understanding that would promote peace and stability in the surrounding area," he added.

Along with exchanging viewpoints, they also discussed the issue of elections in the Kurdistan Region. President Bafel also provided clarification on the PUK's position on the matter, saying, "Our goal is to put in place a system that upholds democratic values and fairly depicts the conditions that currently exist in our region." "The PUK is determined to conduct elections that are fair and adhere to the established timeline."  

"Conducting elections using the same methods as before would have diminished the Region's experience rather than enhancing it," he added.

PUKMEDIA