IHEC says manual counting in Erbil is approved as parliament warns of election rigging
Shafaq News/ Controversy emerged following the special voting for Iraqi provincial councils on Saturday, as the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) office in Erbil announced it would manually count results from some polling stations that failed to transmit electronically.
This decision follows concerns raised by the Iraqi parliament about potential manipulation of results due to the non-transmission.
Explaining the procedure, Ahmed Mazen Yusuf, media director for the Erbil electoral office, cited Article 10(1)(d) of Law No. 4 of 2023.
The article stipulates, according to Yusuf, that if results don't arrive electronically within six hours, ballot boxes are transferred to central audit centers for manual counting and verification.
Technical issues attributed to the device manufacturer (Mirae Korea) caused the transmission delay in affected stations, he added.
"Resolution No. 1 of the Extraordinary Meeting No. 67, issued by IHEC on December 17, 2023, directed a manual counting process for these stations," Yusuf continued, "It ensures adherence to established procedures, including reconciliation forms and secure data handling."
Earlier, IHEC spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalai said the glitch was confined to specific stations and had no impact on the overall election results or their eventual announcement.
IHEC spokesperson said the security and accessibility of voting data were not compromised, assuring that "all the papers are preserved, encrypted, and secured. They will be opened in front of everyone."
