No: 134, 1 May 2014

Parliamentary elections and KRG provincial council elections were simultaneously held yesterday (30 April) in Iraq.

We condemn the acts of terror and violence which have increased in the pre-election period and have continued on election day. We wish God's mercy upon our Iraqi brothers and sisters who lost their lives in these acts, convey our condolences to their families and hope for a speedy recovery of the wounded.

We hope that escalating acts of violence have not adversely affected the level of participation to the elections and have not prevented the fair reflection of the Iraqis’ choices in the ballot box.

We hope that these elections will enable the establishment of a representative and functional government that will bring the deserved peace, stability and prosperity to the brotherly people of Iraq who have been suffering from great pain and distress for many years, reinforce democracy and the rule of law, embrace Iraqi people with all its segments; and thus will conduce Iraq to take the place it is entitled to within the international community.