Vote-counting begins, as polling centers close across Iraq
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ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq's general voting in the early legislative elections has ended. With counting having already started, results are expected to be announced within 24 hours.
The vote began at 7 a.m. And, the Independent High Electoral Commission's (IHEC) spokeswoman Jumana al-Ghalai told Kurdistan 24 that the electronic voting machines were "programmed" to shut down at six in the evening.
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With nearly 21 million people eligible to vote in the country's fifth parliamentary election since 2003, national turnout is predicted to be low, likely the weakest of the previous elections.
Since early morning, Kurdistan 24 correspondents monitored a slow influx of voters towards the polling stations since seven in the morning.
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By midday, the IHEC reported that turnout stood at 19 percent, with the lowest being ten percent in Baghdad's Rusafa district and the highest being in Salahuddin province with 27 percent.
State-run media reported, however, that the participation rate increased in the last two hours.
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