US Urges Iraq’s Kurdish Region to ‘Swiftly’ Form a Government After Parliament Poll

The semi-autonomous region remains beset by chronic disputes between rival parties and the central government in Baghdad.

Iraqi Kurds wave flags as they attend an electoral campaign for the Kurdistan Democratic Party at a stadium in Erbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, on Oct. 15, 2024. Safin Hamid/AFP via Getty Images

The United States has called on Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region to rapidly form a viable government after the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) appeared to clinch parliamentary polls held on Oct. 20.

“We are strongly urging political parties to engage in a prompt and sustained dialogue to swiftly form a stable and representative government without delay,” U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters on Oct. 21.