Kurdistan Region of Iraq Elections, 20 October 2024

That the Parliament welcomes the Parliamentary elections to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on 20 October 2024; understands that the elections are reported to have been postponed on five occasions as a consequence of political differences over the electoral system, and that elections originally scheduled by the end of 2022 failed to transpire with the Kurdish Parliament then suspended in May 2023; acknowledges the ongoing concerns that the government of the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Authority must demonstrate greater transparency and tackle corruption within the region; further acknowledges the concerns of many within the Kurdish Region of Iraq that the Iraqi Government has precipitated a long-running financial crisis by withholding vital Kurdish revenues from the Baghdad government, allegedly to undermine the Kurdish Regional Authority and its pursuit of Independence, that consequently many public sector workers within the Kurdish Region have went unpaid or have had wages delayed; recognises that there are many Kurdish diaspora living in Scotland who care deeply about the future of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, such as the Glasgow-based Kurdish Development Association, led by Mr Shakha Sattar and a team of volunteers, who have been encouraging the Kurdish diaspora with family and friends that remain within the region, along with the entire 2.9 million electorate, to exercise their democratic right to vote in these elections, and believes that, whatever the results, it must deliver for all those living in the Kurdish Region of Iraq a prosperous and peaceful future with an open and transparent government that they can trust.