Kurdistan Parliament special voting sees 97% turnout

KURDISTAN REGION — Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission reported a 97% turnout in Friday’s special voting for the Kurdistan Parliament, expressing hope that the strong participation would carry through to Sunday’s general voting. The commission stated that the voting process proceeded without major technical or security issues.

Polling stations, which were open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., saw 208,521 members of the security forces cast ballots, representing 97% of the 215,960 eligible voters. This marked an increase from the 92.1% participation in the 2018 special voting.

“The elections were conducted smoothly under the supervision of the United Nations, international and local observers, civil society organizations, and media outlets, without any significant issues,” the commission said in a statement. It also thanked voters and officials for their cooperation in ensuring a transparent and fair process.

However, the Alliance of Networks and Organizations for Election Monitoring reported 478 violations, with discrepancies, unauthorized access, and continued campaigning being the most common offenses. Hogr Chato, General Coordinator of the Shams Network, said 600 observers monitored the vote, documenting violations such as mobile phone usage in polling stations, continued campaigning outside voting centers, and unauthorized personnel at polling centers.

Based on data released by Rudaw, partial results show the Kurdistan Democratic Party leading with 82,979 votes, followed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with 51,345 votes. New Generation, the third-largest party, secured 11,207 votes. Karwan Gaznayi, spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s electoral list, later disputed these figures, claiming in a press conference that the KDP had received 74,513 votes, while the PUK had secured 70,103 votes.

The final results from the special voting will be announced after the general vote tomorrow.