Local officers report high voter turnout in Nineveh and Saladin's special election

Shafaq News/ The special election in the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh and Saladin saw a turnout of 75% and 76% respectively, according to local officials.

In Nineveh, Governor Abdul Kader al-Dakheel announced the success of the election, saying that 74,956 people voted, out of a total of 99,726 eligible voters. Al-Dakheel praised the efforts of the election commission, the security forces, and the military for ensuring the smooth and successful conduct of the election.

In Saladin, IHEC's office said that 51,858 people voted, out of a total of 67,393 eligible voters. The office's media director, Yasser Nassif, said that the election proceeded smoothly and no major security incidents were reported.

The special election for provincial councils in Iraq, which is open to members of the security forces, displaced people, and prisoners, saw a turnout of 38% at noon Saturday, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).

The IHEC spokesperson, Jumana al-Ghalai, told Shafaq News Agency said that the final results of the special election will be announced along with the results of the general polls, which will be held on Monday.

After years of delay, federal Iraq is finally set to hold local elections. These elections will pick new members for the provincial (or governorate) councils, who in turn will select governors and form local governments. It has been more than ten years since these elections were last held on April 20, 2013.

Much has changed in national and local politics since then, making these polls significant in terms of assessing party standings. In fact, three parliamentary elections have taken place since the last provincial vote. The councils were dissolved in October 2019, so local politics are completely out of sync with the national scene.

Some parties did not exist in 2013 but have gained great power over the last few years. Other parties were powerful in 2013, but have almost been wiped out in the intervening years. Added to this, governors have held power with almost no oversight since late 2019, making these elections absolutely necessary for reforming local government.

Official data showed that 16,158,788 registered voters across the fifteen federal governorates will participate in this election cycle, according to the final electoral roll managed by IHEC, the body tasked with conducting elections in Iraq. In the Kurdistan region, 3,641,566 citizens are eligible to vote.Several million adult citizens have failed to update their biometric information, mainly due to apathy, and will not be able to vote.