ERBIL

As municipal elections in the Jazira Canton of Syrian Kurdistan go ahead, the Kurdistan Region President has criticised the process, at odds with the Syrian regime, which is considering officially recognising it.

Spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Presidency, Omed Sabah, gave a statement saying that the elections in Jazira are unacceptable.

“Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani has always attempted to unify Kurds in Syrian Kurdistan.”

“The Erbil Agreement was originally signed in pursuit of this purpose, but one of the parties violated the agreement. The Duhok Agreement was implemented as a second chance for all Kurdish parties to come together,” says the statement, “But the current elections in Jazira are in direct contravention of that agreement and it is not acceptable.”

On Friday, in most of Jazira Canton the local election was held, with only PYD-led parties participating in the election and the Kurdish National Council (KNC) boycotted the election process, accusing the PYD Council of neglecting their demands and violation the Duhok agreement.

Elsewhere, the Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoghbi has announced that their government is discussing officially recognising the autonomous administration of Syrian Kurdistan, established by the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

Zoghbi said in an interview, “Kurds are part of Syria, and we are considering recognition of their autonomy within the law and constitution.”

He added, “Kurds are fighting the terrorists too. We repel the terrorists in the north and north east of Syria, while Kurdish forces fight them in areas near Aleppo and Damascus.”