Baghdad: The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has outlined the mechanism and regulations for the special voting process, which will take place on Sunday morning, ahead of Iraq's 2025 parliamentary elections.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Nebras Abu Souda, the Assistant Spokesperson for the Commission, explained that the special voting is scheduled to occur 48 hours prior to the general voting day, as mandated by law. This special voting, set for Sunday, November 9, will encompass all members of the security and military forces, the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Peshmerga, the Intelligence Service, the Counter-Terrorism Service, and all individuals holding a security status. The number of voters eligible for this special vote exceeds 1.3 million.
Abu Souda stated that special voting centers will be strategically located near the military units of these formations, facilitating the voting process in three groups to maintain smooth security operations and avoid disruption of field duties. Regarding the voting mechanism, she explained that security personnel will cast their votes outside their residential areas, although their votes will be counted within their home provinces. The Commission has developed a special ballot paper, known as the 'National Ballot', applicable to security and military personnel as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs), and valid at all polling centers across Iraq.
In terms of IDP voting, Abu Souda highlighted that approximately 26,000 displaced voters residing in camps within the Kurdistan Region will participate in the special voting. Although voting will occur outside their original provinces, their votes will be counted in the constituencies from which they were displaced.
Furthermore, the Commission coordinated with the Ministries of Migration and Trade to update and register IDP data. The Ministry of Migration is responsible for determining displacement status, while the Ministry of Trade identifies original provinces based on ration card records. Registration was conducted inside displacement camps and centers. The IHEC recognizes both those residing in camps and Sinjar IDPs as 'displaced persons', whose data are updated and votes cast wherever they are situated outside the camps, provided they were previously registered, with the exception of Sinjar IDPs who are exempt from this condition.
Abu Souda concluded that the IDP ballot paper used on the special voting day is the same as that of the security and military forces, as the voting mechanism is consistent, with votes cast in a province different from the voter's residential area, but counted within their original home province.