The Judicial Council of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has extended the term of KRG President Masoud Barzani for another two years, a report says.

The council said on Monday that Barzani will remain in his post until the 2017 general election in Iraq’s Kurdistan, according to Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency.

The decision, however, has to be endorsed by the KRG parliament.

KRG’s Justice Ministry spokesman Nariman Talib told Anadolu that an extraordinary meeting of the parliament will decide on the matter on Wednesday.

Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) had earlier sought to extend his presidential term for another four years, but rival parties at the parliament had opposed such a bid.

KRG’s presidential election had initially been set for August 20, the same day Barzani’s term will end, with the incumbent president intending to run for a third term in office. The polls, however, were postponed by the local government over what it called the region’s precarious economic situation and regional instability.

Barzani was elected president by the KRG parliament in 2005. He was re-elected in 2009 by a popular vote – Kurdistan’s first direct presidential election. The parliament extended his mandate until August 20, 2015 after his second term expired in 2013.