Politics

Iraq Election 2021: Special voting begins across country

Members of the Kurdistan Region's security forces early Friday headed to designated polling stations to cast their ballots on "special voting" day, two days ahead of the general election.

Members of Zeravani forces are pictured awaiting the opening of voting centers in the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil, Oct. 8, 2021. (Photo: Renas A. Saeed / Kurdistan 24)
Members of Zeravani forces are pictured awaiting the opening of voting centers in the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil, Oct. 8, 2021. (Photo: Renas A. Saeed / Kurdistan 24)
Kurdistan Krg Kurdistan Region Iraq Iraqi Election 2021

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Members of Iraqi security forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga, inmates, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) took to polling stations Friday morning to cast their ballots in a “special vote,” two days ahead of the general election.

Voting centers across Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, opened up at 7:00 a.m. Erbil time and will close at 6:00 p.m.

Members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are excluded from the special voting day.

Over 1,750,000 members of the security forces are eligible to vote on Friday. In total, 677 inmates can vote, according to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).

More than 120,000 IDPs are registered to vote across 17 provinces in the country, most of whom reside in the Kurdistan Region.

The Kurdistan Region police, the Zeravani forces, and the Peshmerga forces are voting on Friday.

The IHEC has designated 595 polling centers, which accommodate 2,584 stations for the special voting day.

Both the United Nations and the European Union have deployed their electoral observation missions to monitor the process.