IHEC: November elections polling centers in Kurdistan ready in 48 hours
Shafaq News – Erbil
Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) started converting schools into polling centers ahead of the November 11 parliamentary elections, vowing to equip all locations within 48 hours.
In a media briefing on Thursday, Nabard Omar, director of IHEC’s Kurdistan Region office, confirmed that over 3 million of Iraq’s 21.4 million registered voters are in the Region, including more than 224,000 eligible for special voting on November 9.
According to Omar, Kurdistan will host 1,312 general polling centers with 5,599 stations—528 in Erbil, 506 in al-Sulaymaniyah, and 278 in Duhok— while 204 centers with 958 stations are designated for special voting, distributed as 79 in Erbil, 82 in al-Sulaymaniyah, and 43 in Duhok.
Between March 25 and June 22, IHEC operated 173 biometric update centers—53 in Erbil, 79 in al-Sulaymaniyah, and 41 in Duhok—where roughly 388,000 voters updated their records, though 45,000 biometric cards remain unclaimed, with distribution ongoing until election day.
To accommodate media coverage, he added, the Commission has designated 42 press centers—15 in Erbil, 18 in al-Sulaymaniyah, and 9 in Duhok—including 10 reserved for special voting.
Earlier this week, the Commission introduced new transparency measures, notably removing the use of indelible ink once applied to prevent double voting.
Read more: The Kurdish spine of Iraq’s elections: Unity tested by division
