SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq
The prime minister of Iraq’s Kurds has said he hopes the Turkish general election will “bring permanent peace to end the Kurdish issue."
Speaking at a conference on Sunday in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) PM Nechirvan Barzani said: "I hope that this election will also pave the way to strengthening the existing peace and stability in Turkey."
The Turkish government launched the ‘solution process’ initiative in 2013 with the aim of bringing an end to the decades-long conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, which resulted in a call for disarmament from jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Decades of conflict between the group and the Turkish security forces has led to the deaths of some 40,000 people.
More than 53.7 million Turks are eligible to vote in a poll to elect 550 deputies to the Grand National Assembly.
A total of 174,240 polling stations will be open until 5.00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT). Nearly a million Turks living abroad have already cast their ballots at 122 embassies and consulates.
