ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 1.85 million people across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have received biometric voting cards over the past 75 days, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). The new figures bring the total number of eligible voters for Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 11, to more than 21 million.
Data obtained by Rudaw from the IHEC shows that up until June 10, a total of 21,178,979 Iraqis have obtained their biometric voting cards and will be able to cast their ballots in the November vote.
The data further shows Baghdad leading the issuance with 406,447 biometric cards distributed. The northern province of Nineveh follows with 259,460, while Basra in the south comes in third with 107,196.
In the Kurdistan Region, voter registration has also seen notable activity. Around 128,970 voters in Erbil have received their biometric cards, followed by 94,699 in Sulaimani and 65,476 in Duhok.
The biometric card system aims to enhance voter identification and curb fraud and impersonation.
Despite this, concerns have emerged regarding the misuse of biometric cards as the Iraqi parliament’s integrity committee warned on Sunday that biometric voting cards in Baghdad were being bought at prices reaching 500,000 dinars (about $360), describing the matter as “very grave.”
Sherwan Dubardani, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) lawmaker representing Nineveh, confirmed to Rudaw the existence of such practices. “It is certainly true,” he said, alleging that “voting cards are being bought and sold at prices ranging from 75,000 [about $50] to 300,000 dinars [about $215] in Nineveh.”
In response, IHEC has denied the allegations, emphasizing that the electoral process is secure and that no one can vote on behalf of another.
Jumana al-Ghalai, IHEC spokesperson, told Rudaw that while “we will investigate and severely punish the perpetrators, we do not consider this matter to be true, because no one can vote on behalf of someone else.”
Nonetheless, technical issues with the fingerprint verification system have been reported in the past. During the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections in October, some voters filed complaints after experiencing 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 those whose fingerprints are successfully scanned are permitted to vote.
