Kurdistan's parliamentary elections record 72% voter turnout

Shafaq News/ The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced, on Sunday, the voter turnout for the parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

In a press conference, Ayser Yassin, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region elections, stated that "the voter turnout for the Kurdistan elections reached 72%."

Yassin further explained that this percentage is based on the counting of 98% of the votes. He also provided the turnout rates for the individual provinces within the region: Duhok recorded 78%, Erbil 74%, Al-Sulaymaniyah 64%, and Halabja 69%.

Polling stations closed their doors at 06:00 p.m. on Sunday, marking the end of voting for the Kurdistan Parliament elections, without any extension to the voting period.

The election commission had previously confirmed that there would be no extension to the voting time, despite the heavy turnout witnessed in the final hours.

The commission told Shafaq News Agency that the voting process went smoothly overall, although some technical challenges arose at certain polling stations, where fingerprint scanners failed to recognize some voters' prints, preventing them from casting their votes.

Vote counting began immediately after the polls closed, and the commission is expected to announce the preliminary results within 24 hours.