Shafaq News/ On Friday, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Kirkuk announced that voter turnout for the special voting in the Kurdistan Region's parliamentary elections has reached 50%.

Ali Abbas Diab, the Commission’s spokesperson in Kirkuk, told Shafaq News, "By 3:30 p.m., voter turnout had reached 50%, with approximately 250 officers and personnel from the Ministries of Defense, Interior, and Peshmerga casting their votes out of a total of 488 registered voters."

Diab noted that the electronic systems used in the election functioned efficiently without any technical issues. "The polling station will close at 6 p.m., and the data will be transmitted to the national headquarters of the Electoral Commission via satellite."

Earlier today, IHEC reported a 70% turnout in the Kurdistan Region’s special parliamentary elections by noon. Turnout figures showed 77% participation in Duhok, 70% in Erbil, 67% in Al-Sulaymaniyah, and 64% in Halabja.

A total of 1,091 candidates are vying for 100 seats in the Kurdistan Region's Parliament. The overall number of registered voters stands at 2,899,578, with 215,960 eligible to vote in Friday’s special election. The remaining 2,683,618 voters are set to cast their ballots in the general election scheduled for next Sunday.