Iraq local polls delayed to 2019: Electoral commission

By Idris Okuducu

BAGHDAD

Iraq’s upcoming municipal polls -- initially slated for Dec. 22 -- have been postponed to sometime next year, Iraq’s official electoral commission announced Wednesday.

In a statement, the commission attributed the move to the ongoing failure of the country’s leading political parties to form a new government in the wake of hotly-contested May 12 parliamentary polls.

It also said that at least six months was needed to prepare for the upcoming municipal election.