Election Monitoring Networks Release the Opening Report for the General Voting for the Kurdistan Regional Parliament Elections
The general voting process for the Kurdistan Regional Parliament elections began at October 20th, 2024, in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok and Halabja ,1,266 thousand, two hundred and sixty-six polling stations opened , they distributed as follows: 498 stations in Erbil, 477 stations in Sulaymaniyah, 264 stations in Duhok and 27 stations in Halabja.
The number of polling stations is 6,318. The voters 2,683,618, two million, six hundred and eighty-three thousand, six hundred and eighteen ,are distributed among the centers and stations.
The polling stations opened at 7:00 am according to the procedures of the Independent High Electoral Commission, and the observers filled out the opening forms. This report covers the answers of 813 observers from the region. The answers are as follows:
- Was there any electoral propaganda for political entities or distribution of candidate cards inside or within one hundred meters of the polling station? The answer was eighty-seven cases, yes, at a rate of 11%, and 726 cases No, at a rate of 89%.
- Was security forces present inside the polling station? The answer was 266 cases No, at a rate of 33%, and 547 cases Yes, at a rate of 67%.
- Were there attempts to prevent voters from reaching the polling station? The answer was 0 Yes, and 100% No.
- Were any observers, candidate representatives, or political entity agents excluded from the polling station? The answer was eleven cases Yes, at a rate of 1%, and 802 cases No, at a rate of 99%.
- Did the polling station open at 7:00 am? The answer was 747 Yes cases, 92%, and 66 No cases, 8%.
It is worth noting that the Tammuz Social Development Organization’s network of observers is monitoring the elections in the Kurdistan Region with more than two hundred observers distributed by polling centers and stations. The monitoring is carried out within the framework of the Alliance of National Networks and Organizations to monitor the Kurdistan Region Parliament Elections, which is monitoring with more than 1,600 observers, and within the Democracy and Transparency Project” Enabling Civic Participation and Media Freedom ” in partnership with the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and with the support of the European Union.
It is worth noting that the monitoring is conducted on a long-term basis, starting from the stage of approving the election law and continuing until the general voting day on October 20th, monitoring the counting, sorting, auditing, and reaching the final announcement of the election results.
Download the report , English version Click here
