Iraq’s Kurdish region postpones elections

BAGHDAD – Kurdish media says Iraqi Kurdish officials have postponed elections for parliament and president of the autonomous region in the wake of the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from disputed regions across northern and eastern Iraq.

The news agency Kurdistan 24 says the Kurdish region’s elections commission decided Wednesday to postpone the elections originally slated for November 1. It said the regional parliament would pick a new date.

Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani and his Kurdistan Democratic Party are in a delicate position after spearheading last month’s independence referendum. The vote angered Iraq’s central government, which has since seized control over the city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas long coveted by the Kurds.

The elections commission also said there were not enough candidates to proceed with the polls.