Abadi, also the head of Al-Nasr alliance, is set to begin the campaign in Kirkuk and address the city residents in a number of halls, NRT reported.

He primarily addressed Kirkuk governor, members of Kirkuk Provincial Council, a number of tribal leaders and Kurdish notables.

Security forces and Abadi’s security detail cordoned off the hall where he staged the rally and Al-Nasr supporters needed to come by foot and park their car far away from the hall.

Abadi paid visit to Sulaimani on Wednesday, April 26, to attract voters to his Al-Nasr alliance.

He started his re-election campaign in Sulaimani by saying his alliance “does not consider one citizen better than the other.”

The last election took place in April 2014, when the State of Law Alliance of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki won most of the votes, but fell short of an overall majority.

Maliki ceded power to Abadi in 2014 amid political gridlock as IS militants occupied vast swathes of Iraq.

Reporter’s code: 50101