Electoral commission: 17 million Iraqis have collected voting cards

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Ahead of the upcoming October 10 parliamentary elections in the country, 17 million Iraqis have collected their voting cards, the high commission said on Thursday.

The Iraqi government, in a bid to incentivize voters to collect their biometric voting cards, recently announced they would give every voter who picks up their card before Oct. 6 10,000 Iraqi dinars (approximately $7) in mobile phone credit.

Read More: Iraqis who collect their voter cards before October 6 will receive free mobile phone credit

Iraq has 25 million eligible voters, according to the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).

Jalil Adnan Khalaf, head of the IHEC, recently dismissed rumors that the biometric cards are being bought by candidates for purposes of fraud.

“The biometric cards cannot be bought or sold,” Adnan Khalaf told a press conference, adding that the election would be “free and fair.”

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, one of the most respected Shiite Muslim clerics, urged Iraqis on Wednesday to participate in the upcoming elections to “carry out real change.”

More than 3,000 candidates are running in the election for the 329-seat Iraqi parliament.