General Iraqi provincial election begins

Most of the voting centers were open by 7:00 AM (local time)

Kurdistan 24 2023/12/18 09:18

An Iraqi security officer electronically registers as he arrives to vote in the early round for members of the military and security forces in the 2023 Iraqi municipal elections, Dec. 16, 2023. (Photo: Qassem Al-Kaabi/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iraqis across over a dozen provinces are set to head to the polling stations to cast their votes on Monday, as the country begins its general provincial election.

Most of the voting centers were open by 7:00 AM (local time), but few voters showed up, Kurdistan24 reporters at the stations reported. They will remain open until 6:00 PM.

More than 16 million voters are eligible to vote in the election for 275 provincial council seats, for which a total of 6,022 candidates are running in 15 provinces, including Kurdistan Region governorates.

The election is the first of its kind in a decade. The last provincial election was held on April 20, 2013. In the case of Kirkuk, the oil-rich province conducted its last provincial election in 2005.

Iraq conducted its early voting for the provincial elections on Saturday with most of the voters being members of the security forces and the internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing in the Kurdistan Region.

The turnout in the early voting stood at 67 percent, according to the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), the country’s main electoral body tasked with organizing elections.

“We need to change this reality,” a voter, who did not provide his name, in Dubiz district of Kirkuk province, told Kurdistan24, urging his fellow residents in the town to head to the polling centers to vote and change the current local administration, which he had alleged it had sidelined the Kurdish-majority population.

Several other Kurdish voters that Kurdistan24 spoke to early Monday echoed the same sentiments.

Following the 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum, the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed militia forces attacked Kirkuk and other provinces in the disputed territories, ousting the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani and former Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Al-Halboosi headed to the voting centers early Monday. A few other Iraqi politicians similarly voted in the election.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) does not monitor the elections, as the Iraqi government did not request the UN to supervise the polls.