Iraq's Independent High Election Commission announced that the participation rate in the parliamentary elections in the Federal Kurdistan Region was 31 percent as of noon.

According to a statement by the Election Commission, the turnout in the elections was 31 percent as of 12.00.

Participation rate decreased

The voter turnout rate in Hewlêr (Erbil) was 34 percent, 29 percent in Sulaymaniyah, 31 percent in Duhok and 33 percent in Halabja.

In the last elections held in 2018, the participation rate was announced to be 59 percent.

For the voting process that started at 07.00 local time, 2,683,618 voters were called to the polls to elect 100 deputies. In accordance with the quota, 30 of the deputies must be women.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister Kubad Talabani made a statement to the press after casting his vote in Sulaymaniyah and called the voters to the polls.

Talabani said, “Vote for those who will best serve the Kurdistan Region and vote for yourself.  Kurdistan has hundreds of problems”. Calling on voters to vote for his party, Kubad Talabani said, “I hope the Kurdish people will win in this process. Parliamentary elections are to serve the Kurdish people.”

PUK: KDP members exert pressure on people

Hecî Silêvaney, PUK Duhok Electoral District Officer, stated that some KDP groups gathered in front of the voting centres and tried to stop and direct the people with pressure. Silêvaney said, “KDP members in particular are bullying the people. They put pressure on people to vote for them. Other than that, there is no serious problem.”

Ahmed: Results will be announced within 24 hours

Judge Omer Ahmed, President of the Iraqi Independent High Election Commission, said, “After the polls close at 18.00, the results will be sent electronically to the commission's headquarters in Baghdad. The results should be announced within 24 hours.”

UN officials observed the voting

The United Nations Special Representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan, visited a number of polling stations today to observe the progress of voting in the Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.

According to a post on UNAMI's X account, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Claudio Cordone, arrived in Sulaymaniyah to visit polling centres. Cordone met with the governor of Sulaymaniyah, Heval Abu Bakr. Cordone congratulated the authorities, especially the electoral and security institutions, and voters for the ‘peaceful and smooth conduct’ of the voting process.