Kurdistan Election Commission will announce final results in about two weeks: Spokesperson

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The final results of Kurdistan’s parliamentary elections will be revealed in about 14 days, a spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region’s Independent High Election and Referendum Commission (IHERC) said on Wednesday.

“I expect the announcement of the final results of the Sept. 30 elections to take about two weeks,” IHERC spokesperson Sherwan Zrar told Kurdistan 24. “There are many small details the IHERC is intensively examining with high concentration.”

The Commission announced the preliminary results of 85 percent of the ballots on Oct. 4, with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leading the way having received 595,592 votes, followed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with 287,575, and Gorran with 164,336.

During a press conference on the same day, Zrar said the IHERC had received 1,045 complaints related to voting which the Commission is currently investigating.

“I do not think there is a need to rush,” he told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday. “We are responsible to the people of Kurdistan, and we call on all lists to wait for official results.”

According to Zrar, once the investigations into the complaints are over, the Commission will announce the complete results, and there might be a change in the outcomes. He added that parties “have full freedom to accept or challenge” the final results.

IHERC Chairman Hendrin Mohamed earlier said the Commission would carefully investigate all complaints and appeals electoral lists had sent.

“The results will not be announced before the resolution of all electoral appeals,” he said. “Counting, sorting, and considering complaints should be done with utmost accuracy.”

Kurdistan’s parliamentary election kicked off on Sept. 30 for over three million voters, the first regional elections since the defeat of the so-called Islamic State.