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The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Special RepresentativeÌýJeanine Hennis-Plasschaert is reportedly concerned about the political deadlock in theÌýwith parties stillÌýunable to agree on upcoming , a source has told °®Âþµº.Ìý

Hosted by the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, five of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region's main political partiesÌýconvened for a third time in Erbil on Wednesday to discuss upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for 1 October.

Plasschaert also attended the meeting and was unhappy aboutÌýthe current stalemate, the source said.Ìý

"Plasschaert expressedÌýconcern that the meetings are not yet fruitful and that the Kurdish political parties should settle their differences as soon as possible so that a new date [for voting] can be chosen after the postponement of parliamentary elections," a source who attended the meeting told °®Âþµº.

"She also expressed concerns that if the Kurdish political parties did not reach a settlement soon, the situation in the Kurdistan region [could be as]Ìýdestabilised as the rest of Iraq."

Plasschaert previously headed a meeting with top officials from the Kurdish political parties in Erbil on 26 May in a bid to seal an agreement onÌýupcoming elections. She also participated in another meeting with the political parties on 9 June.Ìý

Key issues are impeding the chances ofÌýelections being held in October, including differences among Kurdish political parties over the composition of the electoral commission and calls for amending the region's decades-old election law.Ìý

"Mrs. Plasschaert delivered a speech about the significance of the political parties reaching an agreement on the election issue and setting a date for the process to take place. She also expressed the full support of the United Nations for the elections to be held successfully," the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP) said in a after the meeting.

"Furthermore, Mrs. Plasschaert stressed that all political parties should reach a conclusion soon, because of time constraints.

"It was decided that the last meeting will be held in early September to complete all discussions regarding the election issue and to solve the problems that face the process."Ìý

The UNAMI did not commentÌýon the source's claims.

Yassin Hama Ali, head of the elections commission at the Kurdish Movement of Change (Gorran),Ìýsaid it is unlikely that elections will be held inÌýOctober and that aÌýspecial committee will continue to work with parties to findÌýaÌýcompromise on the postponement of the election.Ìý

"The political parties are still disagreeing on some contested issues, including the quota of the minorities, and how the region's electionÌýcommission willÌýbe reactivated,"ÌýHama Ali told °®Âþµº.

"Unfortunately, there is a lack of trust among the political parties, the majority of themÌýdeem the activation of the commission toÌýbe conditional onÌýthe Kurdistan parliament guaranteeingÌý an amendment toÌýthe election law."Ìý

Hama Ali said there areÌýconcerns that the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) might avoid amending theÌýlaws once a mandate for the currentÌýelectoral commission is renewed by parliament.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Gorran, partners with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)Ìýjoined by three main opposition parties - the New Generation Movement, the Kurdistan Justice Party (Komal), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) - are asking the Kurdistan parliament to amend the election law.

They also want to divide the region into at least four electoral districts and the establishment of a new election commission.

Massoud Barzani's KDP, which has a thin majority of 45 seats in the parliament, insists on upcoming elections being held under the current election law and to be supervised by the region's election commission whose mandate has already expired.

Rival politicians claim that the KDP is opposing the electoral reformsÌýsince it fears its share of the vote will diminish if this is achieved.

The Kurdistan parliament includes 111 seats; women have a minimum quota of 30 percent, while 11 seats are allocated for parties that represent minority groups. The KDP, which has dominated the support of 11 lawmakers from minority groups, is considered a kingmaker in the Kurdish parliament.

The last parliamentary election, held in September 2018, saw a turnout of 57 percent and was marred by allegations ofÌýlarge-scale voter fraud by the KDP - which dominates Erbil and Duhok provinces - and the PUK - that controls Sulaimaniyah and Halabja provinces.

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