Kurdistan Region's border crossings to remain open despite elections: Officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region’s main border crossings with Turkey and Iran will remain open on Tuesday despite Iraq’s parliamentary elections, officials told Rudaw on Monday. 

Nationwide legislative elections will be held in Iraq on Tuesday. The early voting for security forces and the internally displaced persons (IDPs) took place on Sunday. 

Sirwan Hussein, spokesperson for Haji Omaran border crossing in Erbil province, told Rudaw that “despite the elections, tourist and commercial traffic through our border crossing to Iran will be normal tomorrow.”

Similarly, Mariwan Karim, spokesperson for the Bashmakh border crossing in Sulaimani province, said the elections will not affect traffic at the crossing.

Ibrahim Khalil in Duhok province is the only international border crossing between the Region and Turkey. 

"The crossing will not be closed and will be open for 24 hours tomorrow,” Mushir Bashir, the mayor of Zakho, where the border crossing is located, told Rudaw. 

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced that turnout for the early voting reached 82.42 percent, with over 1.1 million security personnel and nearly 27,000 IDPs participating across the country.

The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, with more than 21 million Iraqis eligible to vote. The IHEC previously reported that over 7,700 candidates are competing for 329 parliamentary seats, including nine reserved for minority groups.

Soran Hussein contributed to this article.