KIU condemns voter intimidation in advance poll

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) on Saturday said that security forces were coerced to vote for the ruling parties in Friday’s early voting for the Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.

“I condemn the violations that took place yesterday in this beloved city and in many other cities of the Kurdistan Region, where security forces, including police and counterterrorism… were pressured and intimidated to vote in a way against their will,” Muthanna Amin, a KIU member of the Iraqi parliament, said during a press conference in Halabja.

According to Amin, members of the security forces were forced to vote for the ruling parties and compelled to take photos of their ballot papers as proof, which is illegal under the regulations of the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). 

"Some of these violations also occurred across the Kurdistan Region, especially by both ruling parties, who unfortunately use all governmental and security apparatus resources early on for the elections. They misuse the people's stolen wealth to influence voters, even buying the conscience of some people,” he said.

After taking pictures, some security forces spoiled their ballots, leading to a high number of invalidated votes in Halabja, according to the MP. “Fortunately, a large number of these individuals later nullified their votes, despite having taken the photos, and the proof for this is that over 30 percent of the votes have been invalidated,” he said.

Early voting for Kurdistan Region’s long-overdue legislative polls took place on Friday, ahead of the general vote on Sunday. 

Dozens of violations were recorded, according to Hogr Chato, head of the Shams network for monitoring elections.

Several violations against journalists were also recorded, according to the Reporters Organization for Rights and Developments (RORD), which said that Halabja took the lion's share of 15 out of a total of 19 incidents reported across the Region.

Violations such as the disclosure of voter choices, coercion, vote forging, and attempts by polling center staff to influence votes could incur punishment, including imprisonment. Taking phones into voting booths is a violation of the electoral commission’s regulations but several monitors said some stations did not enforce this rule.

After numerous reports of violations, the IHEC on Saturday released a statement saying that the voting machines protect the privacy of voters and that no party, including the commission’s employees, can know a voter’s choice.

The IHEC is reviewing all the complaints it received, including about voters taking their phones into the polling booths.

The head of the Duhok branch of the IHEC, however, said that “incorrect voting” was the reason for most of the spoiled ballots.

"We are also displeased that votes were invalidated, but the main reason most of these votes were voided was because the voters were unable to cast their votes correctly, and they made mistakes in the voting process," Khalid Abbas told Rudaw. 

There were over 2,000 spoiled ballots in Duhok.

Amin said that the KIU will not sign off on the results of the elections. “Refusing to sign would be the greatest objection to those votes. The commission must take legal measures to address these issues,” he said.

Ninety-seven percent of eligible early voters cast a ballot, with Duhok province recording the highest turnout, according to data released by the electoral commission. 

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