Iraq's IHEC: Turnout in Kurdistan's election reached 70%
Shafaq News/ Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission(IHEC) has reported that the turnout in Kurdistan's special electionreached 70% by 12:00 pm.
In a press conference held in Erbil, the commission’sspokesman Aysar Yassin said that the participation rate as of 12:00 pm was to77% in Duhok, 70% in Erbil, 67% in Al-Sulaymaniyah, and 64% in Halabja.
Earlier today, the IHEC in Kirkuk announced theparticipation of 488 officers and personnel from the Iraqi Ministries ofDefense and Interior, as well as members of the Peshmerga, in the specialvoting for the Kurdistan Region Parliament elections.
IHEC opened polling stations for Peshmerga forces andinternal security personnel to cast their votes at 7:00 am in 165 pollingstations and will conclude at 6:00 pm.
A total of 1,091 candidatesfrom both genders are competing for 100 seats in the Region, 5 of which arereserved for minority groups, reduced from 11 seats by a decision from theFederal Supreme Court (the highest judicial authority in Iraq).
The number of seats allocatedfor women, according to the election law, must be at least 30.
The total number of voters is2,899,578, of whom 215,960 are eligible to vote in the special election. Theremaining 2,683,618 voters will participate in the general election next Sunday.
The legislative elections inthe Kurdistan Region have been postponed four times over the past two years dueto political disputes, having originally been scheduled for 2022.
