Statement by Kurdistan Region Presidency Spokesman

The decision by the authorities in Baghdad to issue a detention order against both Mr Faraj Al-Haidari, the Head of the Independent Electoral High Commission (IHEC) and Mr Karim Al-Tamimi, a member of the IHEC, is a gross violation and a dangerous infringement of the political process in Iraq, and a sign that the democratic process in the country is being undermined.

This decision targets the independence of the electoral commission, its goal is to stop the democratic process by increasing control over an independent institution whose role is to ensure the proper function of the electoral process in the country. Those who are behind these openly malicious attacks are clearly exposing their true intentions and aims.

The Iraqi Parliament had already responded to the accusations against Mr Al-Haidari and Mr Al-Tamimi when they were previously raised, by voting to reject the no-confidence motion against the IHEC in relation to the charges of corruption against them.

It appears that some of those with power in Baghdad are continuing the efforts that they started a long time ago, to enforce a centralised form of governance that takes the political process in the country back to square one, and thereby violates the constitution and all the foundations on which the new Iraq was built with the agreement of all the political forces in the country.

We call on the authorities to immediately reconsider the arrest of Mr Al-Haidiri and Mr Al-Tamimi and to stop their attempts to abuse the democratic process. We call on all the national and democratic parties and forces in the country to take these threats into account before they lead to much more dangerous circumstances. The actions of some within the ruling establishment in Baghdad could have serious consequences, and they are undoing what we have all struggled and sacrificed for many years to achieve.