118 complaints submitted against alleged violations in Iraqi local elections: Official

20-12-2023
Rudaw
A+ A-
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Political parties have submitted 118 complaints against alleged violations in Monday's local elections in Iraq, an official from the federal electoral body said on Wednesday. 

Nibras Abu Soda, a member of the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission's (IHEC) media unit, told Rudaw that they had received 118 complaints from the political parties that took part in Monday’s provincial elections without revealing the details. 

“According to reports we have received from provinces, no red complaints have been recorded,” said Abu Soda, referring to the most serious complaint against alleged violations in the polls. 

The official added that the commission’s experts will work on the complaints to determine if they are green, yellow or red.

The overall voter turnout reached 41 percent, higher than the parliamentary elections in 2021 despite the boycott by influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The councils were dissolved in 2019 in response to demands by Tishreen protesters who criticized the system for its failures and for enabling corruption. After several delays, the election date was set for December 18.

Iraq's long-anticipated provincial elections took place in 15 provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region. The last provincial council elections took place in 2013, without Kirkuk. 

The IHEC on Tuesday evening announced the preliminary results of the votes, which are subject to change in the upcoming weeks, but official figures for the number of seats are yet to be released.

Comments

Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.

To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.

We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.

Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.

Post a comment

Required
Required