Baghdad: The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has revealed that nearly 30 million people will be eligible to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for October. This announcement marks a significant development in Iraq’s electoral process.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, IHEC spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalay stated in a press release that the voter registration phase had begun in 1,079 centers across Iraq’s governorates. This phase aims to ensure voters can participate in the upcoming elections with an accurate and current voter register. It is the first and one of the most vital stages of the electoral process. The registration phase includes registering previously unregistered voters to capture their biometric data and facilitating the addition and transfer of voter information.
Al-Ghalay noted that the commission received data from the Ministry of Trade via the ration card system, detailing new births for the next decade, specifically those born between 2007 and 2017. The biometric registration kit has been updated to include voters born in 2007, totaling over one million individuals. This addition increases the total number of eligible voters to more than 29 million. Al-Ghalay urged those born in 2007 to visit the nearest registration center to record their biometric data and take part in the forthcoming elections.
It is important to highlight that the number of voters eligible for the 2021 elections was 25,139,375, compared to 24,352,253 in the 2018 elections.