"I am very impressed that all the arrangements are very good," Prashant Pise told Rudaw, adding people are enthusiastically heading to the polling stations to cast their votes.
The provincial councils were created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. They hold significant power, including setting budgets for several key sectors such as education and health, but are accused of being rife with corruption.
The vote will take place across 15 Iraqi provinces, excluding the three Kurdistan Region provinces in the north.
"All the preparations... that I have seen so far are all very nice and everything is in order," the Indian ambassador said. "I have spoken with many people here. They said they had no difficulties."
Over 7,000 polling stations opened at 7:00 am on Monday under tight security, and the stations closed at 6:00 pm.
The elections mark the return of the Sainte-Laguë voting method, a controversial system that uses the single-constituency per province system instead of the multiple-constituency system that was adopted for the 2021 parliamentary elections as part of the demands of the Tishreen protesters.
The parliamentary election in 2021 saw a record-low turnout as many voters were disillusioned with the democratic process and had little trust in Iraq’s political system.
