Alleged demographical fraud occurring in Kirkuk voter registration
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - In Kirkuk Province, there has been rampant demographical fraud in voter registration centers for the upcoming Iraqi Provincial Council elections, according to independent research performed by Kurdistan 24.
Arabs from the Hawija border and other areas around Kirkuk are transferring their voter registrations from other Iraqi governorates to the polling stations in Kirkuk.
Corroborating the account of Kurdistan 24, Mohammad Khurshid, Assistant to the Chairman of the Kirkuk-Garmiyan Leadership Council of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, alleged that Arab voters from foreign governorates are voting in Kirkuk and attempting demographical fraud.
Khurshid added that "preventative measures should be mandated by federal authorities."
In less than a month, statistics were observed from the Kirkuk City Center voter registration and renewal center, where research showed that of the 1,300 people who visited the base, 600 were Arabs from Hawija and other cities who transferred their names to the Center.
The research added that since the beggining of June 2023, there have been a total of 30,000 people that have transferred to voting registration and renewal centers throughout Kirkuk from foreign polling stations, and the process is ongoing.
On Sunday, the Iraqi High Electoral Commission announced that the renewal of voter registrations was extended until the end of Aug. 12, 2023 in all governorates of Iraq.
On Dec. 18, 2023, elections for the Iraqi Provincial Council (excluding the governorates of the Kurdistan Region) will be attended by more than 23 million voters and for this purpose, the Iraqi High Electoral Commission has opened its polling stations to register and update voter registrations for July.
Read more: Kurds concerned about demographic change, voter registration in Kirkuk’s next provincial election
As a multi-ethnic province, Kirkuk has long been the subject of dispute between the Iraqi government and Kurdish leadership.
According to Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, the status of the province is to be decided by its residents by conducting a census, followed by a referendum, and de-Arabization of the area. Under the former regime of Saddam Hussein, thousands of Arabs from other parts of Iraq were relocated to Kirkuk to change the Kurdish demography in the city.