Over 20% of the Kurdistan Region’s eligible voters disenfranchised

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 800,000 eligible voters in the Kurdistan Region will be unable to cast their ballots in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections this November due to failure to update their biometric voting cards, a source from Iraq’s election commission told Rudaw, adding that Sulaimani recorded the highest number of disenfranchised voters among the Region’s provinces.

The legislative elections are scheduled for November 11. According to the final results of the 2024 general population and housing census released in February, the total population of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region stands at 46.1 million, with approximately 27 million eligible voters aged 18 and above.

However, only those possessing biometric voting cards - totaling over 21 million - will be permitted to vote, a source from the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) told Rudaw on Sunday.

In the Kurdistan Region, around 3.1 million eligible voters have updated their biometric voting cards, while approximately 813,000 have not, representing around 21 percent of the Region’s total voters, the IHEC source added.

The Region’s eastern Sulaimani province recorded the highest number of unregistered voters, with around 330,400 out of some 1.5 million eligible voters unable to vote.

Erbil followed with over 321,500 unregistered voters out of around 1.4 million, and Duhok ranked third with 160,760 out of approximately 940,500 eligible voters.

The biometric registration portal officially closed on June 30 after multiple extensions since its launch on March 25.

Jumana al-Ghalai, IHEC spokesperson, told Rudaw that the data has been thoroughly audited and represents the latest figures following the closure of the registration portal.

Of note, the Kurdistan Region’s voter turnout in Iraq’s 2021 legislative elections was 45.6 percent, while turnout in Iraq was just over 41.1 percent - the lowest in the country’s modern history. The low turnout was then attributed to widespread public disillusionment and a deep loss of trust in the political system, driven by persistent corruption and the belief that elections fail to bring real change.

Moreover, technical issues with the fingerprint verification system have also been reported in the Kurdistan Region in previous elections, namely during the October parliamentary elections, when some voters complained of problems with fingerprint scanners at polling stations.

According to IHEC guidelines, up to five percent of voters registered at a polling station may vote without fingerprint verification. Once that threshold is reached, only voters whose fingerprints are successfully scanned are allowed to vote.

Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report.