ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s parliamentary election campaign began Friday and will run until November 8. Posters and signs have begun to fill the streets as nearly 7,800 candidates compete for 329 seats. There are more than 21 million eligible voters.
The campaign period will end at 7 am on November 8, 24 hours before special voting begins, Imad Jamil, head of media for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Rudaw on Friday. Security forces and other special voters will cast their ballots on November 9, followed by general voting two days later on November 11.
According to data provided by IHEC, 31 alliances, 38 parties, 23 independent candidates, and 56 quota seat candidates are competing for votes. A total of 7,768 candidates are running, including 5,520 men and 2,248 women. Of the 329 seats, 320 are general seats and nine are reserved for minority quotas.
More than 39,000 polling stations have been designated for general voting in 8,703 centers. For special voting, there are 4,501 stations across 809 centers. Displaced people will vote in 97 stations located in and around camps in the Kurdistan Region.
The commission says 21,404,291 voters with biometric cards are eligible to vote. Special voters number 1,313,980, representing six percent of the electorate. Voter turnout has steadily decreased since the 2005 election when 79 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. In the 2021 election, turnout was 43 percent.
In the Kurdistan Region, 108 candidates are competing for 16 seats in Erbil province, including four women’s quota seats and one Christian quota seat. In Sulaimani and Halabja provinces combined, 136 candidates are contesting 18 seats, five of them reserved for women. In Duhok, 79 candidates are competing for 12 seats, three for women and one for Christians.
Across the four Kurdistan Region provinces, there are 3,068,411 registered voters, representing 14.3 percent of Iraq’s electorate. Baghdad has the largest number of voters with 4,314,866, accounting for 20 percent of the total, while Muthanna province has the fewest with 510,867.
To protect the environment, Sanan Abdullah, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Board of Environmental Protection and Improvement, told Rudaw on Friday that they have issued guidelines about campaign materials.
“The environmental balance must be maintained during the election campaign,” Abdullah said. Posters must not be placed in public spaces such as parks and gardens, he added, because “hanging these pictures and posters with nails and glue will have a negative impact on trees and plants.”
A monitoring team from the commission will oversee compliance, Abdullah said. Violations will be referred to municipalities and the electoral commission for legal action. Penalties for environmental violations range from 300,000 to 10 million Iraqi dinars (about $210 to $7,100), depending on the infraction.
The campaign period will end at 7 am on November 8, 24 hours before special voting begins, Imad Jamil, head of media for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Rudaw on Friday. Security forces and other special voters will cast their ballots on November 9, followed by general voting two days later on November 11.
According to data provided by IHEC, 31 alliances, 38 parties, 23 independent candidates, and 56 quota seat candidates are competing for votes. A total of 7,768 candidates are running, including 5,520 men and 2,248 women. Of the 329 seats, 320 are general seats and nine are reserved for minority quotas.
More than 39,000 polling stations have been designated for general voting in 8,703 centers. For special voting, there are 4,501 stations across 809 centers. Displaced people will vote in 97 stations located in and around camps in the Kurdistan Region.
The commission says 21,404,291 voters with biometric cards are eligible to vote. Special voters number 1,313,980, representing six percent of the electorate. Voter turnout has steadily decreased since the 2005 election when 79 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. In the 2021 election, turnout was 43 percent.
In the Kurdistan Region, 108 candidates are competing for 16 seats in Erbil province, including four women’s quota seats and one Christian quota seat. In Sulaimani and Halabja provinces combined, 136 candidates are contesting 18 seats, five of them reserved for women. In Duhok, 79 candidates are competing for 12 seats, three for women and one for Christians.
Across the four Kurdistan Region provinces, there are 3,068,411 registered voters, representing 14.3 percent of Iraq’s electorate. Baghdad has the largest number of voters with 4,314,866, accounting for 20 percent of the total, while Muthanna province has the fewest with 510,867.
To protect the environment, Sanan Abdullah, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Board of Environmental Protection and Improvement, told Rudaw on Friday that they have issued guidelines about campaign materials.
“The environmental balance must be maintained during the election campaign,” Abdullah said. Posters must not be placed in public spaces such as parks and gardens, he added, because “hanging these pictures and posters with nails and glue will have a negative impact on trees and plants.”
A monitoring team from the commission will oversee compliance, Abdullah said. Violations will be referred to municipalities and the electoral commission for legal action. Penalties for environmental violations range from 300,000 to 10 million Iraqi dinars (about $210 to $7,100), depending on the infraction.
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