On Monday 1 October, the spokesperson from the European External Action Service called on all the parties to accept the result of the parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on 30 September.
Saying that it was "positive that first reports confirm a peaceful and orderly ballot", the EEAS spokesperson added that "vote counting should now be completed speedily and transparently, the results should be accepted by all parties and any claims of irregularities addressed through the available procedures".
The spokesperson stated that this should "lead to the swift constitution of a new parliament and government" with which the EU is ready to work.
According to the EEAS spokesperson the holding of these elections, which were initially planned for November 2017, was important as it offered the region's voters "a crucial opportunity to exercise their democratic rights".
Nearly 3.1 million voters were called to the ballot to elect 111 parliamentarians from among 673 candidates coming from 29 political movements. The results of the elections should be known in the coming hours. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)