Electoral office imposes penalties on candidates in Kirkuk as special and general voting approaches

Shafaq News / The Kirkuk Electoral Office announced, on Friday, the imposition of financial penalties on 20 candidates due to violations, notably exceeding limitations in the numbers of those eligible for special voting and their designated polling centers.

Ali Abbas Dhiab, the office's media director, informed Shafaq News Agency that "20 candidates were fined for various electoral violations, including verbal transgressions against other candidates and parties during electoral meetings and gatherings."

He stated, "The number of electoral violations exceeded 150, with fines ranging from 500,000 to 3,000,000 IQD," highlighting that "the infractions and breaches are being addressed by the violators without any exclusion of any candidate from the local elections."

Regarding special voting, Dhiab clarified that "the number of eligible special voters exceeds 57,000, including security forces and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), distributed across 26 polling centers with 135 voting stations," affirming the "completion of the entire special voting plan, inclusive of security and logistical aspects, in collaboration with security authorities and relevant entities."

According to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Iraq, 16 alliances will compete for 15 seats in the Kirkuk Provincial Council.

It is noteworthy that the special voting process for security force members will commence tomorrow, Saturday, while the general voting for the Iraqi Provincial Council elections will take place on Monday, December 18th.