IHEC to investigate alleged security forces’ unlawful voting

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said on Friday that it is reviewing a complaint regarding claims that security forces have engaged in early voting ahead of the scheduled date.

"A complaint has been submitted to the commission, and a legal committee will audit it before submitting their recommendations to the council of commissioners for a decision," Jumana al-Ghalai, spokesperson for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Rudaw.

This came after a video circulated on social media on Thursday, purportedly showing security personnel casting ballots ahead of the official early voting date.

Ghalai said that no early voting had taken place in advance and emphasized that the commission had not conducted any voting tests, adding that the commission's voting equipment and supplies are securely stored in its warehouses and have not been used.

Early voting for security forces and internally displaced persons (IDPs) is scheduled for October 18, ahead of the general vote on October 20. Around 215,000 people are expected to participate in early voting.

The Kurdistan Region’s last parliamentary elections were held in 2018, with the upcoming vote originally planned for 2022 but postponed multiple times.

Of the 3.7 million eligible voters, approximately 2.9 million are registered to vote, according to Ghalai.

Separately, a group of lawyers from four political parties announced on Thursday that they are offering free legal services to voters facing intimidation during the election process.

Although IHEC has its own mechanism for handling complaints from voters and political parties, the commission welcomed the lawyers' initiative as a means of ensuring a free and fair election.

 

Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report.