The Speaker of Kurdistan Region’s Parliament, Yousif Mohammed on Tuesday announced his resignation while in the Sulaimani Province, asserting his party’s plan to become the opposition.

“It is clear to everyone that, now, Kurdistan is going through a difficult time, and people are facing many challenges. It is the duty of political authorities to ensure good living conditions for the people – not let themselves become the source of people’s woes,” he said in a press conference.

Mohammed belongs to the Gorran (Change) party and has been the Parliament’s speaker since 2014.

Gorran is the second largest party in Parliament with 24 seats out of a total 111.  Following an escalation of political tensions between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Gorran at the end of 2015, he was removed and prevented from entering parliament but did not resign.

“Today that I am announcing my resignation. I promise along with my colleagues that we will continue our work in the parliament in our work as the official opposition,” Mohammed added.

His resignation comes three months ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections in the Kurdistan Region.

By majority vote in October, Parliament extended its term for eight more months until the elections are held. They were previously postponed due to the current situation in the region.

Recently, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechrivan Barzani stressed the importance of holding elections in the coming months as the region continues to suffer a severe financial and economic crisis.