Kurdistan Region Prepares for Elections: Complete Guide to Sunday's Vote

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Kurdistan Region's sixth parliamentary elections are set to begin Sunday, Oct. 20, at 7:00 AM and continue until 6:00 PM.

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of Iraq has released comprehensive data about this crucial democratic exercise.

Voter Information:

- Total eligible voters: 2,683,618

- Erbil: 933,115

- Sulaimani: 1,008,412

- Duhok: 682,791

- Halabja: 59,300

Polling Stations: IHEC has established 1,266 polling centers with 6,318 voting stations across the region:

- Erbil: 498 centers, 2,213 stations

- Sulaimani: 477 centers, 2,373 stations

- Duhok: 264 centers, 1,596 stations

- Halabja: 27 centers, 136 stations

Election Monitoring: The election will be monitored by 16 foreign consulates, 15 organizations, 22 international media outlets, 9,610 local organizations and observers, and 43,139 political party representatives.

Below is the breakdown of the number of the local observers and organizations for Election Monitoring for each of the four constituencies of Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok and Halabja:

Erbil:

No. of Political Party Representatives: 10857

No. of Local Organizations: 33

No. of Local Observers: 2538

Sulaimani:

No. of Political Party Representatives: 23813

No. of Local Organizations: 38

No. of Local Observers: 4199

Duhok:

No. of Political Party Representatives: 8204

No. of Local Organizations: 27

No. of Local Observers: 2873

Halabja:

No. of Political Party Representatives: 265

No. of Local Organizations: 0

No. of Local Observers: 0

Candidates: The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) approved 1,191 candidates ahead of the upcoming elections. Here is the breakdown below:

- Male: 823

- Female: 368

- Party candidates: 949

- Coalition candidates: 123

- Independent candidates: 119

- General candidates: 84

- Minority candidates: 38 (20 Turkmen, 18 Christian)

Parliamentary Seats: The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq has set the total number of seats at 100:

- 95 general seats

- 5 seats reserved for minorities

Distribution of general seats:

- Erbil: 32 seats

- Sulaimani: 36 seats

- Duhok: 24 seats

- Halabja: 3 seats

Special Voting Results: The special voting for security forces, held on Friday, Oct. 18, saw a 97% turnout with 208,521 security personnel casting their votes.

This election represents a significant moment for the Kurdistan Region's democratic process, with extensive international and local monitoring ensuring transparency and fairness. The high turnout in special voting suggests strong engagement in the democratic process, setting positive expectations for Sunday's general election.

Further reporting was done by Kurdistan24's correspondent Mateen Kareem Khan.