Kurdistan electoral body needs 60,000 temporary workers for referendum

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region’s Independent High Electoral Commission has announced a need for nearly 60,000 contract employees for the referendum on independence to be held on September 25.

The spokesperson Commission, Sherwan Zrar, told Rudaw that they need to employ nearly 55 to 60,000 employees and set up 11,000 voting stations for the planned vote in the Kurdistan Region and Kurdistani areas, which were recently liberated by the Peshmerga forces from ISIS militants and are considered disputed by Baghdad.

He said that the new hires will be employed on a contractual basis.

On June 7, the Kurdistan Region’s President Masoud Barzani met with most of the region’s political parties and the date was set for the historic vote. 

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) subsequently deposited $6 million into the bank account of the Commission as its first financial allowance to enable it to go ahead with the holding of the referendum. 

The Commission has said it will need $35 million for the referendum, as well as parliamentary and presidential elections expected to be held in November.

The spokesperson for the Iraqi government Saad Hadisi told Rudaw that the federal government hasn’t dedicated any money to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for its planned referendum.

Earlier, an Iraqi MP and member of the Iraqi parliament’s finance committee Haitham al-Jiburi had said in an interview that the Iraqi government had sent 6 billion Iraqi dinars to the KRG to help the Region hold its September referendum.