IHEC Reports 78 Electoral Complaints and Violations

Kurdistan 12:27 PM - 2024-10-16

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The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has announced the number of complaints and violations recorded during the electoral campaign period for the Kurdistan Parliamentary elections.

Jumana al-Ghalai, Spokesperson for the IHEC, told PUKMEDIA that a total of 44 complaints and 34 violations were documented during the electoral campaign, which ran from 25th September to 15th October 2024.

She specified that the 44 registered complaints include 17 from the Erbil constituency, 22 from the Sulaymaniyah constituency, and 4 from the Duhok constituency. Of these, 14 are currently under investigation, while 30 have had the necessary recommendations submitted to the relevant authorities.

Al-Ghalai stated that the total number of voters with an electoral card is 2,778,898, out of 2,899,615 registered biometrically. These voters will cast their ballots at 1,266 polling centres, which contain 6,318 polling stations for the general voting scheduled for 20th October. Additionally, special voting for security forces and agencies will occur at 165 polling centres with 749 stations throughout the Kurdistan Region, as well as in 8 other governorates outside the Region, including Baghdad (Karkh and Rusafa), Nineveh, Diyala, Salah al-Din, Anbar, Wasit, and Kirkuk, on 18th October.

She also mentioned that the Commission has prepared all the logistical materials for election day, having printed 3,077,550 ballot papers for the general vote and 251,700 for the special vote. This includes 136 electoral lists featuring 1,191 candidates, among whom are 368 female candidates, 84 independent candidates for general seats, 20 for Turkmen seats, and 18 for Christian seats.

She explained that the IHEC selected 40,901 polling staff and trained them on voting procedures and the use of electoral devices. A total of 7,067 voting machines, 7,067 verification machines, and 1,431 result transmission machines have been prepared.

She added that the IHEC developed a plan to distribute cameras, with a total of 22,283 cameras allocated—four cameras for each polling centre, two for each polling station, and four backup cameras for each registration centre, in addition to 50 cameras distributed across four audit centres. This demonstrates the Commission's commitment to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process.

The IHEC is also monitoring violators of the electoral campaign regulations through committees spread throughout the Kurdistan Region, with a total of 34 violations recorded, alongside 44 complaints regarding the electoral campaign.

 

 

PUKMEDIA