Erbil hosts forum on Kurdistan's Parliamentary Elections, focuses on voting and counting methods
Shafaq News/On Wednesday, a group of academic figures and election experts participated ina forum discussing the upcoming parliamentary elections in the KurdistanRegion, with key discussions centered around voting procedures and ballotcounting methods.
The event,held in Erbil, and titled "Parliamentary Elections in the KurdistanRegion: Tools and Goals," addressed many aspects of the election,particularly the significance of voting for the region's future.
One of theprimary topics was the new procedures introduced by Iraq's Independent HighElectoral Commission (IHEC), including the simultaneous use of manual andelectronic vote-counting methods.
In June,President Nechirvan Barzani issued a Regional decree setting October 20, 2024,as the official date for the Kurdistan parliamentary elections.
The Octobervote is expected to elect 100 new lawmakers representing the governorates ofIraqi Kurdistan: Erbil (34 seats, including one for Christians and one forTurkmen), Halabja (three seats), Al-Sulaymaniyah (38 seats, including one forChristians and one for Turkmen), and Duhok (25 seats, including one forChristians).
According tothe Electoral Commission, a total of 1,190 candidates are running in theupcoming elections. These candidates are distributed across two coalitions, 13parties, and include 85 independents, alongside 39 candidates representingminority groups, forming a total of 139 electoral lists.
The overallnumber of eligible voters amounts to 2,899,878. Of this total, 2,683,618 areregistered for general voting, while 215,960 are listed for special voting.
